


Irony is the Best Revenge

by searchingwardrobes



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Canon Divergence, Deleted Scenes, F/M, Future Fic, Post-Season/Series 05 Finale
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-08
Updated: 2016-06-30
Packaged: 2018-07-13 22:06:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 29,673
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7139336
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/searchingwardrobes/pseuds/searchingwardrobes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The course of true love never did run smooth, and unfortunately that's still true for Killian Jones and Emma Swan. They may have defeated the darkness and death itself, but now good old-fashioned revenge seeks to once again tear them apart. I don't want to give anything else away, but let's just say Emma will get a taste of what Killian went through in New York City Serenade.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> * In truth, I am a little tired of the whole memory loss trope on Once Upon a Time, but this fic has been tumbling around in my brain since the middle of 4B, so I had to get it out.  
> * This fic takes place after the season 5 finale (with some flashbacks to 4B and 5A at the beginning), but without the Jekyll and Hyde plot. My muse just doesn't know what to do with that storyline, so I'm ignoring it and picking up the forgotten Lily and Maleficent plot.  
> * The first two chapters are from Lily's point of view with only references to CS, but don't worry, the point of view will shift around chapter to chapter. After the first few chapters, the majority will be from Emma or Killian's point of view.

Chapter One

 

              Lily hated this. All of it. She hated this town. She hated all of these people. Why did she stay? Why did she stay when nothing but pain could come from being here? She growled under her breath. The Charmings. That’s why she stayed. Deep down, she still wanted her revenge. Revenge for what that family had done to her – putting all that darkness into her. But now, she felt more venom toward her former friend than she did towards Snow White or Prince Charming. Emma, who pretended to be her friend, but had broken every promise. Like helping her find her father. Right! She had run off to rescue her pirate, and since their return, had done nothing but float around with him in a state of complete true love oblivion. Emma Swan – oh that’s right – Emma Jones now, had seemingly forgotten Lily even existed.

              “Lily,” Maleficent pleaded, “Lily, honey, just talk to me! Yell at me! Tell me you hate me! Anything but your sullenness and your silence.”

              Lily looked at her mother’s pleading face and watery eyes. Her mother! She still could scarcely believe it. And yes, she hated her, too. Well . . . no, that wasn’t entirely true. Sometimes she felt something for the woman. Maybe not love, but . . . a connection? She _wanted_ to love her, that was true. But was she even capable of love? For weeks, no months now, her mother had given her space, allowed their relationship to grow at Lily’s own pace. And honestly, Lily had enjoyed getting to know Maleficent. Lily had also enjoyed the magic lessons and help controlling her ability to transform into a dragon. Maybe her mother wasn’t as bad-ass as she had imagined, but the woman wasn’t vanilla, either. And Lily knew that losing and then finding her daughter had subdued the woman. Still, Lily chafed to get to that revenge business she thought her mother had once implied.

              Lily looked at her mother and sighed, “It’s nothing . . . mom . . . I just. I’m getting antsy. Part of me wants to leave Storybrooke, while another part of me wants to stay and get my rev- er, happy ending.”

              “You were going to say revenge,” her mother corrected.

              Lily sighed, expecting another speech about looking to the future.

              “Then let’s get to it, shall we?”

              Lily’s head snapped up at that. Her mother looked so calm, with just the slightest hint of a smile. Was she serious?

              “Cat got your tongue?” Maleficent laughed. “You heard me. What does my daughter want, specifically, to enact this revenge?”

              Lily didn’t hesitate. “I want Captain Hook.”

              Maleficent’s face fell a bit. “Oh honey, I’m sorry. That’s one of the few things magic can not do. It can’t make someone fall in love with you. I know he’s handsome –“

              Lily laughed bitterly. “I didn’t say anything about love. I haven’t fallen in love like some school girl. It’s just – he’s hot, he’s fascinating, and . . . he’s Emma’s.” Lily spat the last words out like something vile.

             A smile spread slowly across Maleficent’s face. “I see. Well then, my darling daughter, let’s get you exactly what you want.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *The first chapter was really more of a prologue. In this chapter, we get some flashback scenes with Lily and Killian  
> * This chapter alludes to another fanfic called "On Waxed Mustaches and Perms" by jdmusiclover. The beginning of this chapter kind of picks up where that fic leaves off. You don't have to read it to enjoy this chapter, but it is a fantastic fic that is part of her Fluffy Friday series. I highly recommend it!

Chapter Two

 

Lily’s fascination with Killian Jones had begun the moment she arrived in Storybrooke. Or maybe even before, come to think of it. Emma had spoken to Killian on the phone during their drive from New York to Storybrooke, and the conversation had practically given Lily a tooth ache. Then Emma had gushed to Lily about how wonderful he was. It was enough to make Lily want to throw up. All Lily had ever had was one loser after another. No knights in shining armor or dashing pirates for her, no sir. Nothing but jerks and scumbags. Like she had told Emma, she was cursed. So Emma had given Lily one more reason to despise her.

              Then she had watched Killian Jones run to Emma Swan and envelop her in a sweet hug. Well, the first thought that crossed Lily’s mind was, “Good God! Emma wasn’t exaggerating – he’s hot!” She was almost embarrassed to find herself staring. What was she, sixteen? But this immediate attraction to a man was suddenly different than anything else she had experienced. She felt almost as if fire had lit up her insides. And not _that_ kind of fire, literal fire. She saw something white-hot flash in front of her eyes, so she squeezed them shut.

              “Is everything ok, Lily?” her mother had asked her. Lily opened her eyes, tore them away from the insanely handsome pirate, and looked at her mother.

              “Yeah, I’m fine,” Lily replied with feigned nonchalance, trying to hide her trembling.

              “Uh-huh,” Maleficent had nodded, cutting a knowing glance toward Captain Hook.

                                           *************************************

              After that, Lily felt herself drawn to Killian Jones like a moth to a flame. Literally. Keeping herself away from him was like a physical pain. Of course, it only took her approaching him twice to learn to deal with said pain. She expected him to be a true pirate – seeing women as treasure to be plundered, despite how Emma had described him. Who knew Captain Hook was a one-woman man? Not to mention the fact that he might as well have worn a label across his chest that read, “Property of Emma Swan.” While plenty of women in the town of Storybrooke admired Killian Jones from afar, none of them attempted to so much as befriend the man. He was the savior’s true love – he was off-limits. Lily learned this her first morning in Storybrooke.

              Lily sat staring into the dregs of her coffee cup, fingers nervously drumming on the tabletop, when the bell above the door of Granny’s jangled. She looked up reflexively at the sound to see Captain Hook himself saunter in. And damn, did the man know how to saunter! Lily watched him approach the counter, and chat with the proprietress. Granny Lucas had seemed as prickly as they come when she took Lily’s coffee order, but she was practically beaming at the Captain! The diner was small, so she wasn’t exactly eavesdropping . . .

              “If you would be so kind, I would like two bagels and two hot chocolates to go, please, Lady Lucas.” Who ordered breakfast so gallantly?

              Granny had sighed. “Hot chocolate again?”

              “With whipped cream and cinnamon, of course, but I assumed you knew that by now.”

              Granny chuckled, “Yes, and she’s got you drinking it the same way! But, I know what hot chocolate means. This isn’t just your normal breakfast order. You’re not just dropping this off at the station . . . are you?”

              Killian sighed and scratched behind his ear with his good hand. “Yes, Lady Lucas, I have made special plans this morning.”

              “Romantic?”

              “I don’t know if I would say that, it’s more . . .”

              “Trying to cheer her up?” Granny supplied. “Trying to get her out of this ridiculous funk she’s been in for days? Trying to talk some sense into her where her parents are concerned?”

              “Now Lady Lucas,” Killian replied, lifting his hand in a placating gesture, “you know that kind of bossiness backfires on Emma. I have things well under control, trust me, but you have to deal with Emma delicately.”

              Granny huffed. “Fine, you try your way. But if I have to watch Snow and Charming suffer much longer, I may take matters into my own hands. I love Emma, but Snow is like a daughter to me. She loves Emma more than life itself, so does Charming, and I can’t stand to see them like this.”

              Killian sighed, “I know that, and I also know Emma loves her parents. She’ll come to her senses soon, I am sure of that.”

              Granny nodded grimly, “Alright, Jones. And I’ll get that order.”

              “Thank you, m’lady.”

              Once Granny had walked away, Lily made her move. During the entire conversation, her eyes had kept flitting to those tight fit jeans he was wearing. She was practically on fire now, and ready to pounce. At the same time, she knew she had to proceed with caution.

              “So you’re Captain Hook,” Lily purred, sidling up next to him.

              He looked at her, confused for a heartbeat. He was obviously used to getting hit on in taverns, but not in Storybrooke.

              “Oh right!” he exclaimed, snapping his finger. “The lass from Emma’s childhood. Lily is it?” and he extended his hand.

              “That’s right,” she said, taking the hand he extended. Killian gave it one firm shake, then drew it back. Lily knew it would look desperate to keep hold of it, so she simply rested her hand on his arm. “Emma didn’t exaggerate. You _are_ hot.”

              “Emma talked about me?” Killian’s face lit up like a kid’s at Christmas. _Stupid!_ Lily admonished herself. _Don’t bring up Emma!_

“Yeah,” Lily answered, dropping her voice an octave lower, running her hand subtly along his arm. “You know, you and I are in complementary situations.”

              “Um . . . pardon?” Did Captain Hook actually look nervous?

              “You’re new to this realm. I’m new to the whole fairy tale character thing. We could, you know, help each other out. Adjusting and all,” Lily scooted closer. Killian leaned back.

              “I’m sure Emma will help you out,” he said with a forced smile. “She’s helped me. I’m practically a 21st century man now.”

              _Emma again!_

“Your order, Captain,” Granny announced loudly, dropping the bag of bagels with a little too much force between Lily and Killian.

              Killian looked at Granny with obvious relief and quickly handed her a few coins. “Thank you, Lady Lucas, and keep the change.” He looked a bit awkwardly at Lily, “Nice to meet you Lily, and, um . . . welcome to Storybrooke.”

              Lily watched with pleasure as he walked out the door.

              “Ahem!” Granny cleared her throat loudly. When Lily reluctantly turned her way, the widow narrowed her eyes and said, “Now look here, missy, that boy belongs to Emma Swan. Got that?”

              Lily rolled her eyes, “Well if the two of them are really all that happy, a little flirting from me shouldn’t get your panties in a wad.”

              Granny’s eyes flashed in a way that made Lily remember that the woman used to be a werewolf. She leaned toward Lily and spat, “Emma and the Captain are true love, no question about it. But I know how witches like you tend to meddle with people’s happy endings. So hear me, and hear me well, if I see you so much as looking at that boy the wrong way again, you’ll wish you never came to this town.”

              Granny leaned back, let out a breath, and picked up her order pad. “Now that we have that clear, what’ll you have?”

              Lily rolled her eyes again. They were going to roll right out of her head if she stayed in this town much longer. “Fruit cup,” she spat and stalked back to her booth to wait for her mother.

                             **************************************

              The second time she attempted to make a move on Killian Jones should have had success written all over it. He had stumbled into The Rabbit Hole, already slightly tipsy, with an equally tipsy Robin Hood and an almost completely smashed Belle. “Team Hero” had just returned from Camelot. A mission that, according to Storybrooke gossip, had been a complete failure. From what Lily had heard, Emma was now a full-blown Dark One, and she and her pirate lover where not exactly on good terms. So the pirate captain was heartbroken and already a little drunk. Perfect.

              This time, she threw subtlety out the window. This wasn’t Granny’s. She had sauntered right up to him and boldly propositioned herself, offering “comfort” in her arms and in her bed. It had gone over worse than her flirting at Granny’s. He had gotten right in her face, snarling at her in contempt. She got a small glimpse in that moment of the villainous Captain Hook.

              “Don’t think I don’t see right through you, witch,” he bit out. “I tried to be nice to you the last time because you were Emma’s friend, but since you’ve dropped all pretense, so shall I. There is no other woman – none- for me except for Emma Swan. And I will NOT be your pawn in this game of revenge.”

              Lily had attempted to backtrack. She reached out her arms to him, but he shoved her roughly back. Then he had turned and stumbled out of the pub.

              Granny Lucas wasn’t there to give her the “stay away from the pirate” speech, but Robin Hood and Belle sure were. Lily didn’t think the brunette, slobbering drunk by this point, would ever shut up. _Geez!_ Lily had thought as the woman blathered on, _Someone sure does ship it!_ All of Storybrooke, it would seem, were standing in the way of Lily getting her hands on Captain Hook. And yet, whenever she saw him, she still burned.

              Then the strangest thing happened. Killian Jones died. An act of true love, everyone said, a hero’s honorable death. And Lily rejoiced. She was actually blissfully _happy_! When she saw Emma Swan walking along the sidewalk, gripping a ring that hung around her neck, eyes red rimmed and haunted, Lily was giddy. And that’s when it hit her. She didn’t actually want Killian Jones. She just didn’t want Emma Swan to have him.


	3. Chapter 3

     Now that Lily had been honest with her mother, things had changed almost immediately. They were more relaxed with one another, more honest. It seemed casting aside her villainous nature hadn’t been natural for Maleficent. Now she sat at ease, relaxed, on the couch next to her daughter, take out containers from Granny’s spread across the coffee table in front of them.

              “So, this fire you were telling me about,” Maleficent began, and Lily shifted uncomfortably. She had decided to dive right in and tell her mother everything she had been feeling, but it was still a little embarrassing. They had only known each other a few months, after all. “it began as soon as you saw the Captain?”

              “Er . . . yeah,” Lily admitted, avoiding Maleficent’s gaze. “But as soon as he died, it went away.”

              “But once he was resurrected, the physical pain and fire came back?”

              Lily took in a deep breath, “Yes.”

              Maleficent chuckled and patted her daughter’s knee. “It’s nothing to be embarrassed about, sweetheart, it’s a dragon thing.”

              “It is?”

              “Haven’t you wondered why stories of dragons always involve them dragging off some fair maiden?”

              “You mean that they . . .”

              Maleficent nodded. “Yes, but I must warn you, mating with a human does not end the fire and the ache. The pain only dissipates when the human has been consumed.”

              “So, what you’re saying is . . .”

              “Once you’ve had your fun with Killian Jones, you will have to destroy him.”

                                           *************************************

              Killian stretched his arms above his head, arched his back, and rolled his head around to relieve the aches in his muscles. He looked out at Storybrooke harbor; it was a gorgeous day, a perfect one for sailing. But, alas, he wasn’t taking the Jolly out. Instead, he was scrubbing her from port to aft and taking inventory of supplies. She had not been properly cared for by Blackbeard, and for weeks after Killian himself had neglected her. Not that anyone would blame him. And then, of course, he was . . . dead. So now he had a lot of work to do to get the Jolly Roger in tip-top shape.

              With the town line open again, with no curses on it, Storybrooke was open to visitors. The town needed the business, so two town meetings had been held about how to properly behave around tourists. (Grumpy, of course, had rudely shouted out, “Rule number one, no hooks!”) Regina had appointed Killian as Storybrooke’s harbor master. His duties would be to collect fees from those docking their boats, patrolling the waters, and arresting anyone found breaking the laws. It was rather ironic, really to hire Captain Hook to do things like arrest people for sailing while intoxicated. But, the evil queen was the mayor and Dr. Frankenstein was the head physician at the hospital, so it was par for the course in Storybrooke. Killian even had a badge just like Emma and David.

              The presence of the Jolly Roger itself was another issue, but Emma had come up with a solution. During tourist season, Killian could wear his pirate garb from the Enchanted Forest, hook included, and give tours of the Jolly Roger. Emma even took him to Plymouth, Massachusetts for a day so he could see the replica of the Mayflower. Killian was even toying with the idea of taking people out on the water for a “pirate experience.” It would only be seasonal, of course, and as corny as it sounded, Killian was excited about the idea. It was the beginning of March, so he only had a month to get the Jolly ready.

              As he began swabbing the deck, Killian’s thoughts drifted to Emma. He sometimes couldn’t believe his good fortune. Not only did he have his beloved ship back, he had what he had always wanted more than anything. The one thing he had long ago given up on ever having: a family. When he finished his work at the docks, he would head home to that quaint blue house with the wraparound porch and a view of the sea. He would walk through the door to be greeted by his wife, and perhaps Henry, the lad he had come to love as his own. That alone was worth more than years on the seas or piles of treasure. Killian was so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn’t notice he had a visitor on board.

              “So this is the famous Jolly Roger.”

              Killian’s head came up with a start at the woman’s voice. He suppressed a groan. _This_ woman again? Surely Lily knew by now she wasn’t going to get anywhere with him. He took a deep breath before turning around. Maybe he was getting his dander up for nothing.

              “I mean,” Lily continued, “I’ve seen your boat from a distance; it’s hard to miss. But I’ve never been invited on board by the Captain.”

              The innuendo in her voice was unmistakable. Great. So he had reason to be irritated. “It seems the lack of invitation hasn’t stopped you. And it’s a ship, not a boat.” Killian decided the best course of action was to ignore her. So he turned his back and added, “Emma’s not here. She’s at the station.”

              Lily was right behind him now. She ran a hand down his arm and purred, “I’m not here to see her.”

              Killian whirled to tell Lily to get the hell off his ship, when suddenly he was frozen in place. Lily surged forward and kissed him full on the mouth, and he was helpless to push her away. Killian felt magic surge through him, and suddenly his head was tilting and his mouth was moving against hers. The only thing stronger than the magic was his rage at being controlled like this.

              Lily stepped back smirking, “So not only has Emma nabbed herself a hottie, you’re also a fantastic kisser.”

              Killian felt himself released from whatever enchantment she had placed on him, “What the bloody hell –“ but before he could say anything further, Lily had plunged her hand into his chest.

              He grunted at the initial pain, he would never get used to that sensation, but then smirked as Lily fruitlessly tried to yank his heart from his chest. “You really think, after all we’ve been through, that Emma wouldn’t put a protection spell on my heart?”

              Lily let out frustrated snarl and stomped her foot like a petulant child.

              “What exactly is going on here?” another voice piped up behind them. Killian looked over Lily’s shoulder to see Regina standing at the top of the gangplank with a fireball ready to go in one hand. He never thought that sight would be such a welcome one.

              “Killian and I were just enjoying a beautiful afternoon on his boat – er, ship,” Lily answered, attempting to put her arm around his waist. Killian huffed in frustration and shoved her roughly aside.

              “Really?” Regina asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “Because it looks to me like you were trying to rip the Captain’s heart out. And to be clear, that’s not ok with me.” The flame in Regina’s hand intensified.

              “My mom’s been teaching me magic you know,” Lily scoffed, conjuring a fireball of her own.

              “Then bring it on,” Regina snarled, stepping closer, “but believe me, you are in way over your head, rookie.”

              Lily rolled her eyes. “I’m bored anyway.” And with a puff of smoke, she was gone.

              Killian slumped against the railing. “Thanks Regina.”

              “Have you had run-ins with her before?”

              “Yes, but that was the first involving magic.”

              “Does Emma know?”

              “Between that alternate universe, traveling to Camelot, being Dark Ones, defeating Hades, and throwing a wedding together in two weeks, no, it never came up.”

              “Well you sure as hell better tell her now!” Regina exclaimed. “And just as we decided to open up the town to tourists! The last thing we need is a dragon burning the town to the ground so she can cart off her pirate boy-toy.”

              “Oh,” Killian smirked with a roll of his eyes, “and here I thought you cared.”

              Regina just smiled. For all their banter, Killian and Regina deep down were friends.

              “Well, I was actually here for a reason,” Regina spoke up, changing the subject. “I came to give you these,” and she handed him two fat binders.

              “What are these?”

              “Regulations and city by-laws about the docks, boating, which areas of beach are open for swimming, that sort of thing. As harbormaster, you need to learn it all.”

              “This realm is certainly – thorough with its laws.” Killian joked, taking the binders in his good hand. He shrugged. “At least it’s not Greek or Latin.”

              “Well, I’ll let you get back to it,” Regina said, heading for the gangplank. She stopped before leaving. “And Killian . . .”

              “Yes?”

              “If you don’t tell Emma, I will.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * I had actually planned to put more into this chapter, but it was getting a little long, so I decided to end it here.  
> * Coming up in the next chapter, Lily will find a more successful means to take Killian away from Emma. And that's when things will really get going :)   
> * I know nothing about harbors, boats, or sailing, so I apologize for any and all mistakes.   
> * Also, Killian's old crew will be helping him as harbormaster and with the tourism business venture. I just couldn't find a way to put that in that wasn't awkward to the flow of the chapter.


	4. Chapter 4

              “Calm down, Lily,” Maleficent attempted to soothe her daughter. But Lily just continued to stomp around her room at Granny’s, knocking several items off a table, and then throwing a book against a wall.

              “It didn’t work!” Lily fumed. “Take his heart you, said, but It. Didn’t. Work!” Lily felt anger and rage rise within her. When Maleficent saw her daughter’s eyes begin to turn yellow, she took Lily by both shoulders and shook her, hard.

              “Remember what you’ve learned,” Maleficent reminded her, soothingly. Lily nodded, took several deep breaths, and the yellow faded from her eyes.

              “But why not just turn into my dragon form?” Lily asked. “Isn’t that in all the old stories? I turn into a dragon, snatch Hook, and fly away with him. Done.”

              “First of all, darling, a heavy handed approach like that will only have the savior and both Mills sisters coming at you with all the magic they possess. Team Hero is gaining more assets every day. It’s too risky. Second, you haven’t been paying attention to what I’ve taught you about revenge.”

              Lily massaged her temples with her fingers and groaned. “Mom, I’m not really in the mood for a lesson. Just give it to me straight.”

              “You can give your enemy swift pain and death, yes, but it’s over too quickly. And then you find yourself unsatisfied. No, the best form of revenge draws out the pain. It’s torturous. Your enemy is fully aware. Like a cat playing with a mouse. They see their happy ending – just within reach – but then are forced to watch it slip away.”

              “That,” said Lily, with a wicked grin, “sounds perfect.”

              “Doesn’t it, darling? Now, here’s what you do . . . “

                                           *****************************************

              Kilian knew Regina was right. He had to tell Emma about Lily. He also knew that _Emma_ knew there was something he needed to tell her. Damn her super-power sometimes! What good was it being a sneaky, smooth-talking pirate when Emma Swan Jones was around?

              “So, like I said, Violet and Ava were so busy talking, that they didn’t hear Grandma’s instructions about needing EXACT measurements when adding the chemicals.” Henry piled spoonful after spoonful of mashed potatoes on his plate as he told his story. Killian felt his eyes grow wide as the mound of potatos grew. Where did the boy put it? “They were giggling so much, I honestly don’t think they were paying all that much attention when they put the powder in the beaker, but boy did they stop giggling when the explosion happened!”

              “The explosion?” Emma asked calmly as she grabbed a roll. Most mothers would have probably been concerned about an explosion in science class, but in Storybrooke, it was pretty tame.

              “I mean, a _small_ explosion, but you should have heard the girls scream! And there was this purple goo all over everything. Boy, was grandma mad!”

              “So, are the girls in trouble?” Killian asked before taking a bite of his pork chop. Emma glanced his way. Killian was just showing interest in Henry’s story. Why was she looking at him like that?

              “Yeah,” Henry replied. “They had to clean up the mess of course, and Grandma is making them stay after school every day for a week.”

              After dinner, the three of them cleaned up the kitchen. The rest of the evening was pretty calm. Henry did his homework while Emma worked on some paperwork from the station. Killian tried to read a book, but he kept turning over in his mind how he would broach the subject of Lily to Emma. The last thing he wanted to do was worry her. Everything had been so calm for an entire month now, he hated to ruin it. What made it worse was he kept sensing Emma’s eyes on him. He was relieved when Henry announced he was finished with his homework and asked if they could all watch a movie.

              As usual, Emma and Henry argued over what to watch. They were in the process of educating Killian in movie lore. So far he had watched all of the _Star Wars_ films, _The Princess Bride, Back to the Future,_ and all of the _Pirates of the Caribbean_ films. Now Henry thought they needed to start on superhero movies, while Emma thought they needed to complete his education on Harrison Ford with the _Indiana Jones_ movies.

              “Actually,” Killian spoke up. “How about we watch something I’ve already seen? It was a long day on the Jolly today, and I want to be alert for a new film.”

              “Afraid you might fall asleep, Pirate?” Emma asked with an arched eyebrow.

              “Aye.” _She knows I’m lying._

“O-kaaay,” Emma gave him a knowing look. “Start up _The Princess Bride_ , Henry.”

                                           **********************************

              When Killian came out of the shower later, he found Emma sitting in bed waiting for him, her arms crossed over her chest.

              “Okay, Killian, spill it. What’s going on? You’ve been acting weird since you got home.”

              Killian sighed and ran his fingers through his wet hair. “Aye, love, something happened today. I didn’t want to bring it up in front of Henry. It would have been . . . awkward.”

              Emma cocked her head. “Awkward?”

              “Aye,” Killian turned his back to her and pulled on some pajama pants. _How to begin?_ He climbed in bed next to Emma, then turned to her. “I guess I’ll just jump right in. Lily came to the Jolly Roger today. She tried to seduce me, put some kind of spell on me, kissed me, then tried to take my heart. Of course, you know that didn’t work. Before she could do any more mischief, Regina showed up, and Lily poofed herself off my ship.” He let out his breath.

              Emma blinked twice, her mouth open a little.

              “Emma, love, say something.”

              “I . . . I . . . I’ve never heard you talk so fast,” she finally said, actually smiling. “I mean, you were nervous . . . and rambling.”

              “Was I?” Killian chuckled slightly and nervously scratched behind his ear.

              “I mean, you didn’t think I’d be mad at you, did you? Because it’s Lily being Lily. I don’t blame you.”

              “Well, there’s actually more, Swan,” her saw her eyebrows lift slightly, but he plunged ahead. “This wasn’t the first time she, uh, that she . . .”

              “Hit on you?” Emma supplied.

              “I guess so. Is that what they call it in this realm?”

              Emma laughed and pulled Killian down under the blankets. She cuddled up against his side and said, “She flirted with you, maybe used a few innuendos, like what bar wenches used to do with you back in the Enchanted Forest.”

              “Yes, exactly. The first time I would call flirting, the second time she downright propositioned me. I would have told you sooner Swan, but the first time she had just gotten to town, and the second was right after Camelot –“

              Emma cut him off with a swift, chaste kiss. “I know nothing happened. I trust you.”

              “You really aren’t worried about this? Especially after today, with the magic? And the kiss? Because I feel awful, Emma-“

              She took Killian’s face in her hands and shook her head.              “So she wants to try to steal you away? Well, let her try. Darkness and death couldn’t keep us apart. A petulant dragon is _not_ something I’m gonna lose any sleep over.”

              Killian smiled and pulled Emma closer for a proper, thorough kiss.

                                           *****************************************

              Killian heard Emma groan next to him and pull the blankets over her head. At first he thought she was grumbling about her alarm clock, but as he came fully awake he realized it was her cell phone.

              “It’s your phone, love,” he mumbled, poking her with his elbow.

              “If I ignore it, it’ll stop,” came her muffled reply from beneath the blankets.

              “But a phone call at this time of night is most likely an emergency, Emma.”

              At that, the savior sat bolt upright in bed, snatching the phone from the bedside table.

              “Dad! It’s 2 am! What’s wrong?”

              Killian was fully awake now, too. He watched Emma’s face as she listened to her father. She rolled her eyes, and buried her face in her palm.

              “Really?” she muttered. “Maleficent has to decide to morph into a dragon at 2 am?” She paused. “Of course, Dad. I’ll be right there.”

              Killian was already out of bed and putting on his brace. When Emma saw him, she raised her hands.

              “Oh no you don’t!” she ordered, shaking her head. “You, mister, are staying right here. In this house. With a protection spell around it.”

              “But, Emma, we both know this is about me!”

              “Actually, it’s about me. About taking YOU away from me.”

              “Which is exactly why I should come! You know this is a diversion. Maleficent lures you away while Lily pounces. If I come with you, plan averted.”

              “Or I end up bringing you straight to Maleficent on a silver platter.” Emma stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Killian’s waist. “Please, Killian, stay here. A protection spell won’t trap you and Henry here, but it WILL keep Lily out. Maleficent doesn’t stand a chance against me, Regina, AND Zelena. Please?”

              Killian sighed. “Okay, but call me or send David if you need back up, agreed?”

              “Of course.” Emma reached up, pulled his head down to her, and kissed him thoroughly.

              “What was that for?”

              She smiled, “Just ‘cuz.”

                                           ********************************

              Emma and Killian had agreed there was no need to wake Henry. There was nothing he could do for his mothers, so it would only worry him. _The way I’m worrying_ , Killian grumbled to himself while pacing back and forth in their bedroom. He had tried to read, tried to watch TV, but nothing worked in distracting him. He wouldn’t feel at ease until Emma returned.

              Suddenly, his cell phone began to ring. Killian grabbed it from the dresser and saw Emma’s contact picture on the screen. He punched the button and answered worriedly, “Emma?!”

              “Killian!” Emma panted, sounding frantic. “I need you! Please, Killian, come as fast as you can.”

              “Ok, Emma, it’s ok, I’ll be there as soon as I can. What about Henry?”

              “He’ll be fine. Just . . . come . . . quickly.” Emma sounded exhausted. “The town line, Killian. Hurry!” Then Emma was screaming.

              “EMMA!!!” He yelled into the phone, but the connection was lost. Killian sprinted for the door and almost collided with a panicked Henry.

              “What’s going on?” Henry asked. “I heard you yell Mom’s name.” He looked frantically around the room. “Where is she? Where’s mom?”

              “I’m sorry, Henry, I don’t have time to explain. Your mom just called, she needs me, but you have to stay here,” Killian took Henry by the shoulders. “Promise me Henry. It is very important. Stay. Here.”

              “Yes, ok, I promise.”

                                           ************************************

              By the time Killian made it to the town line, he was gulping in air. _I really gotta get Swan to teach me how to drive._ He kept trying to call her, but her phone kept going straight to voice mail.

              “Emma! Emma!” Killian shouted with the little breath that he had left. But the road and woods at the town line were eerily quiet.

              “I must say, I’m a little disappointed in you Captain,” came a voice to his left. He spun around to see Lily walking towards him from the tree line. “All I had to do was make you think your precious Emma needed you, and you came running. I thought Emma said you were smart.”

              Killian looked down at his phone and groaned. Magic, of course. How could he have been so stupid? And now he was out here all alone with no magic to protect him. Of course, he wouldn’t let Lily see his vulnerability. He grinned at her cockily.

              “The whole town line thing is an overused trope, don’t you think?” Killian joked. “I myself have used it. Of course, it’s really pointless now. No more curses on it, you know. “

              “I know,” Lily replied calmly, walking closer. “I really didn’t need to do this at the town line. It’s just a very poetic way to go about it.”

              “Nice mood and setting for your villainous monologue, am I right? Well, take it from a former villain, the whole monologue bit is really unnecessary. I find it usually backfires.”

              “Oh does it?” Lily asked with an arch of her brow.

              “Aye,” Killian continued, calmly toying with his hook, “you see, it gives your enemy time to –“

              Killian surged forward with his hook raised, but before he could use the weapon, Lily had met him halfway and pricked him with a needle she had hidden up her sleeve. Killian stayed standing, but his arm dropped and his head drooped forward, eyes closed.

              “You see,” Lily said with an icy voice, sauntering forward, “villainous monologues work just fine when you can force your victim to be still and listen. My mom taught me this little trick. It’s just a tiny prick of a tiny drop of sleeping potion. Just enough to shut your body down, yet still keep you on your feet.”

Lily pressed her body flush against Killian’s and whispered directly into his ear, “And you can still hear every word I say. But there won’t be anything you can do about it.” She tipped Killian’s chin up and planted a kiss on his lips. “You know, Captain, you could have done this the easy way. We could have run off together. You could have gone back to being a pirate. No one could have stopped us! We would be free, free to live a fun and exciting life. But now I have to do this the hard way.”

Lily lifted Killian’s arm and twisted the hook out of his brace. “You won’t be needing this where you’re going, Captain.” Then Lily slid the wedding band off his right ring finger. “Or this.” Then she took great pleasure in reaching around and slipping Killian’s cell phone out of his back pocket.

She took several steps backward, then flicked her wrist. Then, in a puff of smoke, Killian Jones disappeared.

“I’ll be seeing you soon, Captain.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * The hardest part of this chapter was getting Lily's monologue right at the end. At first it sounded like all the other villains on the show. Very dramatic. And it sounded great. But then I realized it was out of character for Lily. So, I had to go back and fix it. I'm still not sure I got it 100% right, but at least it's more in character.  
> * After posting the last chapter, I realized something. Some of you may have wondered why Lily needed Killian's heart since she was able to magically force him to kiss her. Basically, she enchanted her lips so that the next person she kissed would be forced to kiss her back. But, pun totally intended, it was only a one time thing. So, she still needed his heart. I really didn't know how to fit that explanation in to the chapter.  
> * I am about to leave to go out of town for a couple of weeks. My husband's family has this little house on a little lake. There will be fishing, swimming, and lots of woods for my kids to run around in. But, sadly, no internet. So, it will probably be two weeks before I can update this story again. So, sorry to leave you on such a cliffhanger! However, I will, hopefully, get a lot of writing done, so when I do update the story I may be able to post several chapters at once.  
> * The next chapter will be from Emma's point of view. But don't expect to know what happened to Killian for a few chapters!


	5. Chapter 5

As Emma walked down the sidewalk beside her father, she felt bone-weary. All she could think about was her warm bed and Killian’s arms around her.

              “You didn’t have to walk me home Dad,” Emma said to David.

              “Of course, I did,” David replied. “You’re practically dead on your feet, Emma. Plus, you had me worried a little the way you hit that tree.”

              “Well, it was better than the alternative,” Emma replied with a weary chuckle. “If Zelena hadn’t pushed me out of the way with her magic, I would be toast right now. Literally.”

              David shook his head. “If you had told me a year ago we would be fighting alongside the Wicked Witch of the West, I would have called you nuts.”

              Emma laughed softly, “Me too.” She felt her father’s eyes on her. “What?”

              David shook his head, but held his daughter’s gaze. “I just couldn’t be prouder of you, that’s all.”

              Emma felt herself blush. She loved hearing her parents’ praise, but she still wasn’t used to it. “What about you, Dad?” Emma poked David in the ribs. “It’s pretty impressive watching you fight a dragon with a sword. Prince Charming all the way.”

              Now it was David’s turn to blush. “Well, it’s not exactly my first run-in with a dragon.”

              “Well, let’s hope it’s your last,” she began to really laugh now, way more than the situation warranted. She was THAT tired.

              “What’s so funny?”

              “Sorry Dad, it’s really not that funny. It’s just . . . well, Maleficent was brought back to life just to end right back up in that dungeon beneath the library.”

              David joined in her laughter. “Yeah, I bet she’s not too happy about that. She’s probably even less happy this time around in a cell right next to Rumplestiltskin.”

              “Well, I don’t blame her for that. I wouldn’t want to be stuck down there with that man either. Thank God for squid ink, is all I’ll say,” Emma stopped in front of her house and turned to her father. “Want to come inside and say hi to Killian? I’m sure he’s up pacing the floor.”

              “Thanks, but your mother is probably at the loft doing the same. I should get home.”

              Emma nodded and gave her father a hug. “Thanks for walking me home, Dad. I’ll see you in a few hours at the station. Unfortunately.”

              After hugging her back, David headed down the sidewalk toward the loft. Emma climbed the porch steps wearily, every muscle in her body protesting. When she opened the door, she was expecting to be greeted immediately by Killian. Instead, the sight that met her eyes was Henry, slumped over the kitchen table, fast asleep. He jumped at the sound of the front door closing.

              “Mom!” Henry exclaimed, running and almost knocking her over with a bear hug. The kid sometimes forgot how big he had gotten. He looked over Emma’s shoulder with a confused expression. “Where’s Killian?”

              Emma felt cold dread settle over her. “What do you mean? He’s not here with you?”               “No,” Henry shook his head. “You called and said you needed help. He was terrified, so was I. He left about an hour ago.”

              “No,” Emma whispered, “I never called.”

              She met Henry’s equally terrified gaze. But Emma Swan Jones only allowed herself two minutes to internally panic before she steeled herself and marched back out her front door. Her father had only gotten a block away and rushed towards her.

              “Emma, what is it?”

              “If that bitch,” Emma seethed between gritted teeth, “thinks she can get away with this, she is dead wrong.”

              “Emma, who? What’s happened?”

              “Lily! Her mother was a diversion, just like Killian thought. I assumed he would be safe at the house with a protection spell, but she used MY VOICE to lure him out!”

              “Emma!” David said sternly, grabbing her arm and turning her to face him. “You don’t know it was Lilly. You can’t let your fear and anger cloud your judgment.”

              “I DO know it’s her, Dad!” Emma shouted, wrenching her arm free. She held up her cell phone. “The GPS on Killian’s phone is leading me straight to Granny’s.”

              “Lots of people have rooms at Granny’s.”

              “It’s her,” Emma seethed.

              “I’m going with you.”

              “Not necessary, Dad,” Emma bit out.

              “As pissed as you are right now, I’d say it is.”

                                           ************************************

              As soon as Emma reached Lily’s room, she wasted no time banging on the door.

              “Open this door, Lily! Open it RIGHT NOW!”

              When Lily opened the door, she had a smirk on her face that made Emma want to punch her. “Am I in trouble sheriff? I mean sheriffs.”

              “Yeah, you’re in trouble, where the hell is Killian?”

              “Oh,” Lily raised her eyebrows, “and your first thought was that he was here?” She gave what Emma assumed was supposed to be a seductive pout. “Were you worried he was in my bed? Or maybe my shower?”

              Ok, Emma REALLY wanted to punch her now. Instead Emma rolled her eyes, and shoved past Lily into the room. “Don’t be ridiculous. But the GPS on his phone led me straight here.” Emma began searching the closet, then the drawers. David began searching as well.

              “Whoa, wait a second!” Lily protested. “I know most of your fairy tale residents don’t know that we’re in the United States of America, but I do. And I know I have rights. Do you have a search warrant? Or does the sheriff of Storybrooke get a free pass as long as her puppy dog of a husband is involved?”

              “That’s it!” Emma wheeled around and punched Lily right in the face.

              Lily fell backwards onto the floor. “What the hell!”

              Emma yanked Lily up by the arm and shook her, “’What did you do to him? Tell me!”

              “Emma, stop,” David put a hand to her arm.

              “She did something to Killian, Dad, I know she did!”

              “I know,” David said softly. He held up Killian’s cell phone. The color drained from Emma’s face.

              “Killian’s phone,” she whispered.

              David pulled Emma’s hand off Lily’s arm. He yanked Lily around and slapped handcuffs on her.

              “Hey!” she protested.

              “You have a missing man’s phone,” David replied. “We have grounds to arrest you. How’s that for proper police procedure?”

              Lily rolled her eyes. Emma pulled the magic cuff out of her pocket and slapped it on Lily’s wrist as well. “And that’s because we’re in Storybrooke.”

                                           *************************************

              Emma strained to keep her eyes on Killian’s leather jacket as it floated in front of them. If she hadn’t been so pissed, she probably would have considered a locator spell first. They definitely weren’t getting any information out of Lily. She sighed and didn’t have to turn her head to know that David was watching her worriedly. They had been walking for what seemed like forever. Between confronting Lily, searching for Killian, and the earlier battle with a dragon, Emma should have passed out from exhaustion. But she was too worried to feel tired. She would sleep when she found her husband.

              They were nearing the town line now. Not a good sign. Killian’s jacket came right up to the line, then dropped like a lead balloon.

              “It’s like it hit an invisible wall or something,” David mused.

              Emma walked slowly toward where the jacket lay on the ground. She knelt on the cold, hard asphalt, picked it up, and hugged it to her chest. Emma lowered her head and buried her face in the leather. When she smelled sea salt and rum, the tears came.

              “Emma,” her father called from the tree line. “I found something.”

              Emma wiped her cheeks with the cool leather, then stood up. From the tone of her father’s voice, it wasn’t good. When she saw the tree her father was shining his flashlight on, she gasped and dropped Killian’s jacket. Emma walked slowly forwards. Embedded in the tree was Killian’s hook, his wedding band around the tip. As Emma looked at it, rage slowly replaced the fear and sadness. She yanked the hook out, catching the wedding band as it fell.

              “You would think,” Emma growled as she stared at Killian’s hook, “people would know by now not to mess with my pirate.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * I know I said it would be two weeks before I could post again, but our travel plans changed. So consider this a nice surprise! We're still going on our trip, we're just leaving later. I'll give you a heads up before we leave.  
> * I had planned more for this chapter, but it was getting a little long. Plus, that was just too perfect of a chapter ending!  
> * I know not much happened plot wise in this chapter. I mean, Emma was finding out things we already knew. Still, I enjoyed writing it for two reasons: 1. The image of the hook imbedded in the tree and left for Emma to find was my earliest inspiration for this fic, so I was excited to finally write that part. 2. This one took me by surprise, but I LOVED writing Emma and Charming. I thought their dialogue turned out really well. Again, it took me by surprise. I wasn't planning on going with the father/daughter bonding, but that's where the muse took me.  
> * Up next: another chapter from Emma's point of view (including more pissed-off Emma getting in Lily's face - boy do I love that!), and Emma's friends offer their help in finding Killian.


	6. Chapter 6

. David reached his arm out towards Emma, but before he could say a word, she had disappeared in a puff of smoke. She transported herself not just to the station, but right into Lily’s cell. She barely registered Regina’s startled cry, ignoring the mayor to focus on the source of her rage. All Lily had time to do was jump up from her cot with a yelp before Emma had her pinned to the wall, Killian’s hook at her throat.

              “Where is he!” Emma growled.

              Lily recovered her senses quickly. “If you think I’m gonna tell you anything, you’re dumber than I thought.”

              Emma pressed the hook harder against Lily’s skin. “You will if you don’t want your throat slit.”

              “Emma,” Regina warned as she approached the cell. “She can’t give you information if she’s dead.”

              “Don’t worry, _Queen_ ,” Lily spat, never taking her eyes from Emma’s, “she didn’t have the guts to kill me before. I seriously doubt she’ll have the guts now.”

              “How do you know I haven’t learned my lesson?” Emma retorted, twisting the metal in her hand slightly. Lily drew in her breath sharply.

              “Emma,” Regina tried again, in a calm voice. “Killian stopped you from crushing Merida’s heart, remember? He wouldn’t want you to do this, either.”

              “Merida was innocent, Lily isn’t,” Emma practically whispered. But already her resolve was weakening. She saw a thin trickle of blood appear on Lily’s neck. She remembered all the times Killian had encouraged her to resist the darkness. With a trembling hand, she lowered her arm. She heard Regina let go a relieved breath. Emma took a step back from Lily. Ignoring the woman’s smirk, Emma flicked her wrist and transported herself out of the cell. Without a word or a glance to Regina, Emma marched to her office. She didn’t protest, however, when Regina followed her and gently closed the door.

              “Do you know why she’s still here?” Regina asked. At Emma’s questioning gaze, she continued, “I saw her on the Jolly Roger with Hook. Everything I saw would point to her using him the same way I used Graham. So the question is, why is she still here? Why didn’t she leave with Killian?”

              Emma narrowed her eyes as she watched Lily sprawl out on the cot in her cell. “It’s about revenge. She wants to watch me suffer.”

              “Exactly,” Regina gave Emma a smile. “So don’t give her anything to watch.”

              Emma took a deep breath. She looked down at Killian’s hook, still clenched in her fist. Then she opened her other hand and looked down at his wedding ring. With a sigh, she opened a drawer and laid them both inside. Then she straightened up, squared her shoulders, and marched out of her office with new resolve.

              “Okay,” Emma said as she approached the cell once again, “I need answers Lily, and I need them now. A locator spell led us to the town line, which means Killian isn’t in Storybrooke. So where is he?”

              Lily didn’t even sit up from the cot. “Uh-uh. Not talking.”

              Emma began to pace in front of the cell. “Ok. Well, there’s no curse on the town line anymore, so what’s stopping Killian from just walking or taking a bus back home?”

              Lily shrugged.

              “You sent him out into the world you and I grew up in, Lily. And I’m good at finding people. I’m especially good at finding Killian.” Now it was Emma’s turn to shrug. She turned and began to walk away.

              “The family motto, huh?” Lily called out. “That’s all well and good, Emma, but it won’t matter if you find him. He won’t know who you are.”

              With her back turned to Lily, Emma smiled. A memory curse. Now she knew what she was up against. Emma turned back to Lily and walked up to the bars separating the women. “The situation was reversed once, you know. Killian found me in New York, he convinced me to drink a memory potion, and he brought me home."

              Emma didn’t give Lily another glance, just walked towards the station doors, with Regina at her heels. “Get everyone together at the loft. We need to have a meeting. We’ve got to get a game plan together and quick.”

              “What’s the hurry?”

              “I don’t believe for one minute that Lily’s going to stay in that cell for long.”

              “How would she get Pan’s cuff off? Even Zelena couldn’t manage it, and Lily is nowhere near that level of magic.”

              “I don’t know,” Emma answered, shaking her head, “but catching her was way too easy. I mean, why keep Killian’s phone? Why not just leave it at the town line for us to find with the rest of his things?”

              Regina smiled grimly. “Your father thought the same thing.”

              “He did?”

              “Why else did you think I was here?”

                            *******************************************************

              “So you need to find Killian before Lily does?” Snow asked. She, David, Emma, Regina, and Zelena were all gathered around the kitchen island in the loft. Emma was a little leery of not having Regina at the station to watch Lily, but she really needed both Regina and Zelena at this meeting. They had put a spell around the station and hoped for the best.

              “That’s an understatement,” Zelena said with a roll of her eyes, “or there won’t be much of the dear captain to find.”

              Emma looked sharply at Zelena. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

              “Sis . . .” Regina said with a sigh.

              “What?” Zelena replied defensively. “They have a right to know.”

              “A right to know what?” Emma crossed her arms, her voice rising.

              “I was going to bring it up more . . . delicately.” Regina glared at her sister. “You see . . . dragons don’t really – er – _date_ humans in the normal way.”

              “So when your friend says she’s cursed with men, she’s not exaggerating,” Zelena supplied, “once the dragon, in whatever form, mates with a human, they lose interest. And then they . . . well, let’s just say Lily’s exes should be happy she didn’t know how to morph into a dragon yet.”

              Snow gasped in horror, “You don’t mean . . .”

              “Sadly,” Regina answered with a sigh, “yes. It’s exactly what you’re thinking.”

              “It doesn’t matter,” said Emma resolutely. “We’re not letting that happen.”

              “Right!” Agreed David, rubbing his hands together. “So, Regina, Zelena, is there any way to make Lily talk using magic?”               Zelena snorted, “Of course there is, but I doubt any of you could stomach it.”

              “What my sister means,” Regina jumped in, “is that forcing someone to talk is torture, regardless of the means. It would require the darkest of magic.”               “No,” Emma shook her head vehemently. “Then no, we’re doing this the RIGHT way.”

              “Well,” Regina crossed her arms and tilted her head, “someone sure is singing a different tune than she was in Neverland.”

              “I didn’t fully understand the darkness in Neverland; now I do. And we’re not using it.”

              There was silence for a beat, and then Emma said, “The first thing I need is from you, Zelena. You made a memory potion once. Can you make more?”

              “Of course,” Zelena said with a shrug. “Everything I need is in Regina’s vault.”

              “But how do we find Killian?” asked Snow.

              There was a knock at the door. Emma smiled, “Hold that thought, Mom.”

              Emma opened the door to find Belle standing on the other side. The petite woman’s pregnancy was finally showing, with the tiniest of baby bumps, but she was still impeccably dressed.

              “I’m so sorry I’m late!” the brunette apologized sweetly as she walked through the door. “What’s happened to Killian is just horrible, and of course I will do anything I possibly can to help.”

              “How’s SHE going to help us?” Regina scoffed. “Is she going to bore Lily to death with obscure library books until she cracks?”

              “Nice to see you too, Regina.” Belle deadpanned. “For your information, I’m helping Emma.” She looked at Emma and gave her a sad smile, squeezing her hand. “It’s ironic, really, I’m used to Killian being my research buddy.”

              Emma smiled back at Belle, then explained to the rest of the group, “Belle and I are going to find Killian the way I used to find people as a bail bonds person. Of course, we’re at a disadvantage. Killian has no birth certificate, social security number, or credit card statements.”

              “Not to mention we don’t know what his name is under this memory curse,” added Belle.

              “But,” Emma said, taking a deep breath, “there’s still internet news and social media. Belle and I will scour everything and hopefully get a hit.”

              “Don’t forget arrest records,” Regina put in. When everyone gave her an insulted look, she rolled her eyes. “Well he is a pirate, you know!”

              “Yes, Regina,” Emma replied. “I’m not going to forget that either. Pirate or not, he doesn’t have any money on him. I know what it’s like to be hungry, desperate, and broke.”

              “Good old-fashioned police work,” David nodded. “It’ll work, honey.”

              Emma gave her father a sad smile, “It has to, Dad.”

                             **********************************************

              Emma sat in front of her computer screen at the police station, punching the arrow key with way more force than necessary. She was scrolling through all the stories that were trending on Facebook, hoping to find something that would lead her to Killian, but coming up empty. But it wasn’t the fruitless searching that was causing her to take her frustrations out on her keyboard. No. It was the empty cell across the room. Emma had come in that morning to find Lily gone, Pan’s cuff lying on the floor of her cell. She had known, deep down, that this day was coming, but that didn’t make it any easier. Killian had been missing for 6 weeks now. It felt like an eternity. And now Lily was out there looking for him as well. For all Emma knew, Lily didn’t even have to look. Maybe Lily’s existence was built into the curse she had cast. Maybe in Killian’s false memories, Lily was his girlfriend or wife. Emma groaned and rubbed her eyes. She had a splitting headache.

              “Emma!” Suddenly Belle was rushing into Emma’s office. Well, rushing as much as someone could when they were almost six months pregnant. Belle panted as she came to a stop at Emma’s side. “I’ve found something.”

              Emma closed out her computer screen. “You don’t know how badly I needed some good news today.”

              Belle looked across the room at the empty cell and frowned. “Yeah. I saw your father on patrol earlier. He told me the bad news.”

              “Well, I don’t feel like re-hashing it.” Emma gestured to Belle’s laptop. “Let’s get to the good news.”

              Belle set her laptop down in front of Emma and pulled up the story she had read on the internet.

              “The Sweetwater Gazette?” Emma asked.

              Belle chuckled. “Yeah, Sweetwater Kansas. A tiny town where nothing ever happens. Lucky for us, or this story wouldn’t have even made the paper.”

              Emma read the headline out loud, “Trespasser Found on Connor Farm.”

              “Look at the date, Emma,” Belle pointed out over her shoulder. Emma looked. It was the same day Killian had gone missing.

. Emma skimmed the rest of the short article. Farmer Connor had found a man sleeping in his corn field. When the man woke up, he seemed disoriented. Emma chuckled at the quote from the farmer: “He looked like one of them hipsters with his tight jeans and eye makeup.” _Well, that certainly sounds like Killian_.

. Belle was practically bouncing behind her. “Did you get to the last paragraph yet?”

. Emma read the last paragraph out loud: “Although the man was not officially charged with trespassing, local authorities are still advising the community to keep an eye out for him. Due to his erratic behavior, they believe he may be suffering from drug addiction or post-traumatic stress disorder.”

Emma caught Belle’s eye and shook her head. “I know,” Belle chuckled, “they’d never survive in Storybrooke.”

Emma picked up reading where she left off: “Mr. Connor gave a detailed description of the man, who looked to be in his mid-thirties. He is approximately 5’ 11” tall with dark hair and blue eyes and is missing his left hand. Other distinguishing features are a scar on his right cheek and a tattoo on the inside of his right wrist.”

. Emma leaned back, releasing a deep breath. “I know, right?” Belle enthused, bouncing on her heels again. “It _has_ to be him!”

Belle was right, the description was too uncanny to be a coincidence. Emma wanted to have hope, but one thought worried her.

. "This was six weeks ago, Belle,” Emma said softly. “Six weeks ago he was in Sweetwater Kansas. But where is he now?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * Boy, this chapter was a tough one for me to write. I have newfound respect for the writers of Once; those strategy meetings and police interrogations are hard to write! And I don't know about you the reader, but for me the meeting in the loft just seemed to be missing something without Robin :(  
> * I actually looked up Colin's height for the description at the end. I know it's unrealistic for the man to guess it exactly, but I thought all of you would appreciate the detail :)  
> * I'm more excited about the next chapter. It's going to be told from the point of view of Emma's family and friends; so there will be multiple POV in the same chapter. I think you'll see why once you read it. Also in the next chapter we discover an even more important reason for Emma to find Killian ASAP.


	7. Chapter 7

              _The sun shone warm on Emma’s face, and the breeze was refreshing. It was a perfectly beautiful day. Killian walked beside her, looking as handsome as she had ever seen him in the red vest and leather duster from the ball last night. The field they were walking through was literally carpeted with middlemist roses. Killian bent down and picked one for her. His smile as he bent to kiss her shone brighter than the sun overhead. She threw her arms around his neck, and pulled herself closer to him. For once she didn’t regret the past or worry about the future. She clung to this moment and savored it._

                             ***********************************************

              Henry gasped when he came downstairs for breakfast. His mom lie fast asleep on the couch in the living room, her and Killian’s wedding album hugged to her chest. But that wasn’t what had startled him. It was the roses. The room was filled with middlemist roses. And not in vases – there were patches of green scattered throughout the room from which the roses bloomed. Henry gingerly tiptoed to the couch and leaned over his mom. A small smile graced her face, which made him hesitate waking her. He knew middlemist roses were important to his mom and Killian. That’s why they had so many of them at the wedding. His other mom had even made a snarky comment about somebody throwing up middlemist roses, that’s how many there were.

              “Mom,” Henry shook Emma’s shoulder. “Mom, wake up.”

              Emma groaned and opened her eyes. Seeing Henry, she sat up quickly, “Oh Henry, I’m sorry, you need breakfast before school, I – “ then she noticed the roses. “Oh, guess I did that, huh kid?”

              Henry chuckled, “Well, I didn’t do it.”

              Emma flicked her wrist and the flowers disappeared. She leaned back on the couch, still hugging the photo album. “Sorry, Kid. I was having a dream. A really _good_ dream.”

              “We’ll find him, Mom. You two always find each other.”

              Emma nodded and gave Henry a small smile. “Let me get that breakfast.” She set the album down on the coffee table and stood up, but as soon as she did she swayed a bit. “Whoah.”

              “Mom?”

              “Nothing, kid,” Emma waved Henry off. “Just got up too fast. That’s what I get for sleeping on the couch, right?”

              Henry looked at his mom worriedly. She looked pale and had dark circles under her eyes. She was stressed and probably wasn’t sleeping well, but still . . .

              “Mom, you don’t look so good. Maybe you should go upstairs and go to bed. I’m old enough to get my own breakfast, you know.”

              Emma smiled and seemed to visibly sag with relief. She glanced at the clock. “I guess a little extra sleep couldn’t hurt. I’ll text Dad and let him know I’ll be coming in at nine,” she ruffled Henry’s hair. “Have a good day at school, kid.”

              Henry watched his mom worriedly as she slowly climbed the stairs. Then he grabbed a pop-tart and dashed out the door. Killian was always really good at getting the whole family up and going in the morning, but since he had disappeared, Henry and his mom had fallen back into bad habits. He was going to be tardy again if he didn’t move it. Waiting for him at the bottom of the porch steps was

Violet. Henry groaned.

              “Good thing Killian’s not here, he says _I_ should be picking _you_ up.”

              Violet laughed, “My dad agrees with him. But if I waited for you every day, I’d have after school detention every single day from all the tardies.”

              “Sorry,” Henry mumbled, stuffing a pop-tart in his mouth. “Killian is better at getting me up in the morning.”

              “And then you have time for a proper breakfast.”

              “This is a great breakfast!”

              “Only to you and your mom,” Violet glanced back at the house. “How _is_ your mom?”

              “Honestly,” Henry sighed, “she didn’t look too good this morning. I mean, it’s been two months now, and we still don’t know where my dad is.”

              “Your dad?”

              Henry felt the color drain from his face. Had he just said that out loud? He crammed some pop-tart into his mouth, “I didn’t say dad. I said Killian.”

              Violet stopped him and put a hand on his arm, “No, Henry, you said dad.”

              Henry sighed. “Can you keep a secret?”

              Violet nodded, “Of course.”

              Henry brushed pop-tart crumbs onto his jeans, stuffed his hands in his pockets, and turned to continue the walk to school. “Sometimes, in my head, I call Killian dad.”

              “Why is that a secret? I mean, he married your mom, and you deserve to have a dad.”

              “I know,” Henry shrugged and kicked a pebble on the sidewalk. “It’s just, I don’t know how my family would feel about it. I mean, what if my mom thinks it’s disrespectful to my real dad? And what if it makes Killian feel weird?”

              “Well,” Violet said slowly, “I think they all just want you to be happy. Even your real dad. So when Killian gets back, I think you should talk to them about it.”

              Henry grinned. “When? You’re sure my mom will find him? Sure that . . . my dad . . . will come home?

              Violet smiled back at him. “Of course I do. I’ve heard their story,” she sighed and got a dreamy look on her face. “It’s SO romantic.”

              “Their story! That’s it!” Henry exclaimed. He grabbed Violet and gave her a peck on the lips. “Thank you! I’ve been wanting to help my parents, and now, thanks to you, I know what to do!”

              Henry took off in the opposite direction from school.

              “Henry!” Violet called after him. “Where are you going?”

              “To the sorcerer’s mansion! Tell grandma I’ll explain everything and to please excuse my tardy!”

              Violet shook her head. She would do as Henry asked, but she had already learned Snow White was no pushover as a teacher. Even with her own grandson. Henry Mills was about to get _another_ tardy, which meant _another_ afternoon in detention. No wonder he wanted to call a pirate “dad.”

              **********************************************************************

              _Emma giggled as Killian guided her along, his hand tugging at one of hers and his hook gently tugging her belt loop._

_“Are we there yet? Can I open my eyes?”_

_“No, Swan! Don’t open them until I tell you.”_

_Emma had no idea what he was so excited about. Something else had happened when he helped Ursula, and whatever it was had him as giddy as a little kid at Disneyland. Killian released her, then moved to stand behind her. He wrapped his arms around her waist, leaned over, and rested his chin on her shoulder. He turned his head and whispered in her ear, “Open your eyes.”_

_Emma was not prepared for the sight before her. She blinked, but no, it was really there. The Jolly Roger was here, in Storybrooke harbor. She turned in Killian’s arms and slid her arms around his neck. “You got her back,” she whispered._

_“Aye,” Killian whispered back, “but I would trade her again in a heartbeat. For you.”_

_Before Emma could respond to the sincerity in his eyes, Killian had scooped her up into his arms. She squealed. “What are you doing?”_

_“Carrying the princess on board my ship,” he answered, smiling at her so wide, crows feet appeared at the corners of his eyes._

_Emma laughed, “Have you carried rum barrels heavier than me, Captain?”_

_“Yes, come to think of it, but that’s a rather odd thing to say, love.”_

_“It’s what you told me the last time you did this.”_

_“The last time?” Killian asked, confused as he set her down on the deck. Then he rolled his eyes as he realized what she was referring to. “Oh that, well, let’s just forget about last time, shall we?”_

_Emma still had her arms around Killian’s neck. The smile fell away from his face as he searched hers intently. Emma swallowed hard and felt her heart thudding violently in her chest. She thought back to what Killian had told her in that cabin earlier in the day._ Don’t you know, Emma? It’s you? _And she did know. That’s what scared her. She knew how much he loved her. Yes, loved her. He hadn’t said it yet, but she knew. He had shown it in a thousand different ways. But if he said it out loud, what would she do? The actual words still sent her into panic mode. After his declaration earlier, and the earnest expression on his face now, she felt that panic rising to a crescendo. Killian opened his mouth, but before he could speak Emma turned and pulled him towards the railing. The sun was beginning to set._

_“It’s so beautiful,” she sighed._

_“Aye,” Killian responded, “it is.”_

_Emma turned to look at him. Killian wasn’t looking at the sunset, he was looking at her. There was a time when she would have rolled her eyes and playfully shoved him, calling him a cheesy flirt. But right now, it caused her to practically melt. When he pulled her into his arms, she felt like the heroines in all those old black and white movies who looked like they were practically fainting when kissed. That’s what it felt like. It felt like falling._

              ********************************************************************

              David walked into the police station with two takeout bags from Granny’s. Emma had been cloistered in her office all day, trying every trick she knew to turn up another lead on Killian. David had noticed Emma wasn’t eating much during the work day, and Henry had informed him she wasn’t eating much at home either. He had decided to surprise her with her favorite lunch.

              He sighed when he walked into her office. Emma was fast asleep at her desk, her head tucked into the crook of her left arm while her right hand rested next to the computer mouse. It was as if she had literally passed out from exhaustion in the middle of her work.

              “Emma,” he spoke softly as he set the takeout on the desk. He moved to her and shook her gently, “Emma, honey.”

              Emma’s eyes fluttered open, and the she looked around for a second as if she were confused. “Oh, Dad, hi,” she wiped some drool off her cheek and laughed sheepishly. “That’s embarrassing.”

              “Don’t worry, honey,” David laughed. “I know you’re stressed. Here, I brought you a grilled cheese and onion rings.”

              “Oh, Dad, you’re a saint!” Emma enthused, grabbing the bag, “I’m starved!” But as soon as she opened the bag, she made a face. “Ugh, did the cheese go bad? This reeks!”

              David took the bag and sniffed. He shook his head, confused. “It smells fine to me.”

              “Did Granny change what kind of cheese she’s using? What do they call that cheese that smells like feet?”

              David chuckled, “Pretty sure she uses Kraft singles, Emma. It’s a diner, not a New York City bistro.”

              “Well, whatever it is, it stinks.” Emma wrinkled her nose and tossed the bag in the trash can. David couldn’t help feeling disappointed. He had wanted so badly to cheer her up. Emma must have noticed his crestfallen expression. “Oh, Dad, I’m sorry. I know you were trying to do something nice. I’m not that hungry anyway.”

              David wrinkled his brow, confused, “But you just said you were starving.”

              “I know,” Emma shrugged, “but it’s like once I got a whiff of that grilled cheese, I wasn’t anymore.”

              Emma swiveled her chair back towards her computer, rubbing her neck.

              “Find anything?”

              “Actually,” Emma replied, “I’m working on trying to get us some facial recognition software.”

              “Really?” David said, leaning over her shoulder.

              “Yeah,” Emma explained, gesturing to her screen, “you can scan in a photograph and it searches social media for similar facial features. But, of course, they only sell it to law enforcement, so Belle and I have been spending an inordinate amount of time doing some computer hacking. We have to, literally, put Storybrooke on the map so I can legitimately say I’m a sheriff.”

              “Belle’s a hacker?”

              Emma looked up at her dad and grinned, “She is now, and much better than me.”

              David smiled back down at Emma, and it wasn’t because of Belle’s hacking abilities or new software. It was because when Killian Jones wasn’t around, Emma didn’t smile all that much.

              ********************************************************************

              _As Emma climbed the stairs to her room, she felt like a giddy teenager who had just had her first date. Come to think of it, it_ was _, in a lot of ways, her first real date. She had never had a young man come and pick her up. Never had her father give him “the talk.” Never had parents waiting up for her when she got home. And she had never had a goodnight kiss that was so pure, so sweet, so genuine. She sighed as she sunk onto her bed, fingers lightly brushing her lips. For one moment, she allowed herself to feel without being afraid. She was in love._

              **********************************************************************

              When Snow saw Henry slide into the booth across from her and David, alone, she was immediately worried. “Where’s your mother?”

              “Well,” Henry began, “first of all, she overslept. I heard her alarm clock blaring for like twenty minutes. I finally went in there and woke her up. How she slept through that sound, I have no idea.”

              “Well,” David said, “she needed a good night’s sleep. I found her asleep at her desk yesterday.”

              “You did?” Snow asked. When David nodded, Snow frowned.

              “Mom jumped out of bed,” Henry continued, “but as soon as she did, she got dizzy, just like the other day.”

              “She got dizzy the other day?”

              “Yeah, Grandma, after she fell asleep on the couch. Anyway, she’s not here because I think she may actually be sick now. She’s throwing up and stuff.”

              “Huh,” Snow rested her chin in one hand, while taking a sip of her coffee with the other.

              “The kid mentions throwing up, and I lose my appetite,” David remarked, “and you just sip your coffee like it’s nothing.”

              Snow laughed. “I’m a mother.”

              “I’m a dad!”

              Snow patted her husband’s arm. “It’s just not the same honey.” As if to punctuate her point, Neal squealed and laughed in his high chair, half chewed cheerios dribbling down his chin. Snow wiped Neal’s chin without missing a beat then winked at David over her coffee cup.

              Granny came and took all their orders. It was a busy Saturday morning, so it took longer than usual to get their food. They were just digging in when Emma came through the door. They all looked up at her, surprised. Snow took in Emma’s pale complexion and tired countenance with concern.

              “Honey!” she exclaimed. “Henry said you were sick.”

              “Yeah,” Emma said, “but it must have just been food poisoning or something. The nausea just went away, and suddenly I was starving.” She scooted into the booth next to Henry.

              Granny came to the table then with David’s omelet. “Here you go, your highness. Sorry I left out the onions.”

              “Thanks Granny, no problem,” and Dave began working on his omelet.

              Granny turned to Emma, “What’ll you have today?”               But Emma didn’t answer. Snow saw her staring at David’s omelet, face paler than it was a moment before. “Emma,” Snow asked, “sweetie, are you ok?”

              Emma suddenly darted from the booth, hand covering her mouth.

              “Does she have something against omelets with onions?” David asked.

              “Hm,” Snow thought for a minute. “I’ll be right back.”

              Snow got up and headed for the ladies room. When she got there, she found Emma in one of the stalls, retching. She knelt down next to her daughter, holding her hair back from her face, rubbing her back. Emma finished and sat down next to the toilet. “I’m sorry, Mom. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I thought I was fine, but as soon as I saw Dad’s omelet . . .”

              Snow smiled. “Emma, I think you know exactly what this is.”

              Emma pushed her hair back from her sweaty brow. “What are you talking about, Mom?”

              “Falling asleep at weird times and places, getting dizzy, throwing up . . .”

              “Mom, please, it can’t be.”

              “It can’t?” Snow insisted. “And your Dad told me about the grilled cheese sandwich the other day. Since when does Granny’s grilled cheese smell weird to you?”

              Emma groaned. “Mom, it’s just stress, that’s all. Besides, Killian’s been gone for two months now, remember?”               “And when’s the last time you had your cycle? You could be two months along, Emma. After all, with your figure and activity level, it would be awhile before you would start to show.”

              Suddenly Emma’s eyes widened and she covered her face with her hands. “Oh God, Mom! Oh, no! Not now! Not like this!”

              Snow reached over and massaged Emma’s neck. “Don’t freak out, honey, it’s just a theory. We don’t know for sure yet.”

              “But you’re right!” Emma raised her head, tears pooling at the corner of her eyes. “The last time I had my period was over two months ago. What else could it be?”

              “Well like you said, it could be stress . . .”               Emma punched the thin wall of the bathroom stall. “The last time, with Henry, I was all alone. I thought this time would be different. But here I am, alone. Again.”

              “Hey!” Snow spoke almost sternly, cradling Emma’s face with her hands. “You are NOT alone. We’ll tell your father we need a girl’s day out. We’ll go get a pregnancy test, and I will be right here beside you the whole time.”

              Emma looked deeply into Snow’s eyes, and in them Snow thought she saw a glimpse of the little girl she never got a chance to raise. “You will?”

              Snow smiled gently. “Of course.”

              Then Emma did something that took Snow utterly by surprise. It broke her heart and warmed it all at the same time. Emma lay her head in Snow’s lap and cried.

             

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * I was missing interaction between CS, so I added in Emma's dreams. I especially liked the scene on the Jolly Roger. That one was fun to write.  
> * So now you know why Killian REALLY needs to get home quick! And finally, something I know a lot about - pregnancy! Especially morning sickness, ugh. I had a problem with smells with all three of mine.   
> * Up next, Snow is there for Emma, Emma finds out what great friends she and Killian have, and Belle searches for a more fairy tale way of finding Killian in her ex-husband's books.


	8. Chapter 8

              Snow and Emma sat silently on the edge of the bed in the master bedroom of Emma and Killian’s home, staring at the door to the on-suite bathroom. Snow had been the one to go and buy the test. Emma hadn’t wanted the gossip mill of their too-small town discussing the savior, Emma Swan Jones, buying a pregnancy test when her husband was missing.

              Snow had thought Emma’s fears were unfounded until she went to the counter of Dark Star Pharmacy to pay for the test. The young woman behind the counter had raised her eyebrows and given Snow a knowing grin as she scanned the box. After Snow paid and took the bag, the woman said, “Hope you get the answer you want, your highness.”

              “Uh . . . thanks,” Snow had mumbled and then hurriedly left the store. Why was she blushing? It wasn’t even her test! Thank goodness Emma hadn’t come in the store.

              Now she watched Emma out of the corner of her eye. Emma was chewing her bottom lip and nervously twisting her wedding ring. “Honey,” Snow said softly, “I think the test is probably ready now.”

              Emma nodded, took a deep breath, and walked into the bathroom. When she came back out a moment later, Snow smiled at her nervously and asked, “Well?”

              Emma shrugged one shoulder and gave her mother a sheepish grin, “I haven’t had the guts to look at it yet. I’m just suddenly really, really afraid . . .”

              “Afraid of being pregnant again?” Snow asked.

              “No,” Emma shook her head and smiled softly as tears spilled onto her cheeks. “I’m afraid it will be negative. I just suddenly realized that I _want_ to be pregnant. I want it so badly! I imagine a little kid running around this house with Killian’s dark hair and blue eyes. I think of how good he is with Henry, and how we’ve both always wanted a family. So if this test is negative, I’m afraid it will crush me. I mean, what if the symptoms really are just because of stress?”

              Emma finally stopped talking and gave her mother a nervous look. “Is that crazy mom? That despite everything I actually _want_ this?”

              Snow stood up and walked towards her daughter with a smile. She took her daughter’s face in her hands as she often did. “No, honey. It’s not crazy. You want to have a child with the man you love. There’s nothing crazy about that.”

              “Even when he’s missing?”

              “You’ll find him. I have no doubt.”

              Emma nodded, then rested her head on her mother’s shoulder. “Look at it with me?”

              Snow smiled, tears on her cheeks now. “Of course.”

              The two women stood side by side, Snow’s arm around Emma’s shoulder. Emma held the stick in her hand, the little window facing down. Emma took a deep breath, counted to three, then flipped the test over. Snow beamed as she looked at the little pink plus sign. Then she looked at Emma and grinned, “I’ll be a grandmother again!” They both laughed with joy and embraced.

              ***************************************************************

              Emma jolted awake at the sound of a paper bag plopping down right next to her head. She groaned and rubbed the back of her neck. She really needed to stop falling asleep at her desk. But she was so _tired_. And the morning sickness! What a horribly misleading name! It was more like morning, noon, and night sickness. She didn’t remember it being this bad with Henry. Then again, the heartbroken sobs in the fetal position in her jail cell sort of blocked everything else out. Then there was the chapter on morning sickness she had read in that pregnancy book her mom had loaned her. Apparently, older women tended to have more intense pregnancy symptoms than younger women. So, yeah, that was a great bonus.

              Her father chuckled, “Sorry, honey. I didn’t mean to startle you.”

              Emma waved her hand at the bag, “If that’s take out from Granny’s, you can just go ahead and chuck it. I can’t eat it. I mean – I’m not hungry.”

              “Well, you’re in luck, this isn’t Granny’s. Your mother sent me with this.”

              Emma looked at the contents of the bag and then back up at her father, who was avoiding her gaze. Emma groaned. “I told her to keep it a secret! What was I thinking? She can’t keep a secret to save her life!”

              “Now, Emma,” her father tried to calm her, lifting both hands in a placating gesture, “she only told me. She and I tell each other everything. And . . . well, she was worried about you. I could tell, so I sort of pulled it out of her. No one else knows.”

              Emma rubbed her forehead and sighed. “Ok, Dad, what’s with the bag.”

              “Your mother says you have to eat no matter how sick you feel. For the baby, but also for yourself. She says eating before you’re really hungry can help keep morning sickness tolerable. Makes no sense to me, but what do I know?” David grinned down at her. He was so happy to be able to help, Emma could tell.

              “But I can’t keep anything down, Dad. And half the time, I’m hungry until I smell the food, and then I get sick.”

              “I know. Your mother said bland carbs are the answer. Of course, this is a little better than the dry toast your mother had to eat in the Enchanted Forest.” He handed her the bag.

              Emma nodded and started taking the saltine crackers, plain bagels, and rice cakes out of the bag. There was also a bottle of ginger ale and a little bottle of peppermint oil. She would never tell her Dad, but she had read about all of these things in the pregnancy book. That’s how she knew Snow had blabbed as soon as she looked in the bag.

              “The ginger and peppermint are natural remedies for nausea,” David explained. “Your mom said to rub the peppermint oil on your wrists.”

              “Thanks Dad,” Emma said, reaching over and giving him a side hug. He responded by resting his hand on top of her head.

              “Well,” he chuckled, “choose something to nibble on before your mother texts me.”

              Emma sighed. She didn’t really want to eat anything, but to appease her father she pulled out a rice cake, took a small bite, and smiled up at him. “I’ll get you a cup of ice from the break room for that ginger ale,” her father said. “Your mother said it’s better cold.”

              Emma watched her father rush out of her office. She had to admit, it was nice this time around to have people doting on her. Suddenly, she heard a ding on her computer.

              “What was that?” her father asked as he walked in with the ice. He poured the ginger ale and handed it to Emma, looking over her shoulder at the computer with a furrowed brow.

              “It’s the facial recognition software,” Emma explained, clicking with her mouse with a trembling hand. “It got a hit.”

              Twitter pulled up on Emma’s screen and she inhaled sharply. There he was – her Killian. He wasn’t dressed the same, and he was clean shaven, but it was him. An older man with a flowing gray beard, dressed in biker garb, had his arm flung across Killian’s shoulder. The two men stood next to a motorcycle. The tweet said: “Passing my latest Harley on to another injured vet. #woundedwarriors #passiton #brothersinuniform” Emma searched the man’s twitter feed and saw that he was a Vietnam veteran with a non-profit. He restored old motorcycles and gave them away to wounded veterans.

              “It doesn’t give us a name,” David said, disappointed.

              “No,” Emma sighed, “but now we know that cursed Killian thinks he’s a wounded US veteran.”

              “Well, that makes sense. He was in the Royal Navy back in the Enchanted Forest before he became a pirate. Where was this photo taken?”

              Emma leaned forward and started punching keys. It took little time to find the website for the Vietnam vet’s non-profit. His motorcycle shop was in Nashville, Tennessee.

              “So does that mean we need to head to Tennessee?” David asked, reading over Emma’s shoulder.

              “No,” Emma sighed, “this tweet is old. It’s from four weeks ago.”

              Emma was shocked when David kicked a filing cabinet in the corner. “If only we had that software sooner!”

              “Hey, Dad! I’m the one who’s supposed to freak out! I need you to be my pep talk guy, remember?”

              David sighed and leaned against her desk, “I know honey, I’m sorry. I think finding out about the baby has put me on edge.”

              Without thinking, Emma’s hand went to her still-flat stomach. “I know Dad,” she whispered.

              The atmosphere in the room definitely needed a boost, so it was actually perfect that Belle ran in at that very moment. Well, waddled in was more like it. At first the sight of the largely pregnant woman was a jolt to Emma’s heart. Would she be alone so close to her due date, just like Belle? But then Belle was talking excitedly and setting up her laptop. She had found something. And this news story was from just two weeks ago. David filled Belle in on what they found on Twitter while Belle pulled up the web site she had found. It was a local newspaper again. Emma leaned forward and read, her Dad reading over her shoulder. _Unidentified Good Samaritan Brings Down Human Trafficking Ring_ was the headline.

              _A human trafficking ring was brought down over the weekend due to the brave actions of an unidentified good samaritan. 14 year old Stephanie Winslow, who was abducted while walking from the bus stop last Tuesday, was brought to the truck stop by her captors to be sold as a prostitute. The 14 year old was forced to approach men at the bus stop and offer sex for money. Luckily for Stephanie, the first man she approached ended up rescuing her instead. “He asked if I wanted to be there,” Stephanie told police, “I didn’t answer him, the men holding me said they would kill me if I did, but I guess he could tell I was scared.” Stephanie says the man then told her to run and find some police officers. At that point, her abductors, who had been watching from a distance, began chasing her. “I was terrified,” Stephanie said, “but the nice man, he stepped between me and the men so I could get away.”_

_Stephanie found two West Virginia state troopers in the truck stop diner. The state troopers found four men unconscious with blows to the head. They then searched the truck stop and rescued five more girls. After questioning the four men in custody, five more arrests were made and ten more women and girls were rescued. Stephanie’s father, Ed Winslow, wishes to find her daughter’s rescuer. “We just want to thank him for saving our baby girl,” her father explained. The West Virginia police department would also like to find the man. “We just want to get a statement from him,” detective John Wyatt explained, “It can help our case and make sure these men stay behind bars for a very long time. And, we want to thank him too.”_

After that, the article gave Stephanie’s description of her rescuer. It was Killian again, right down to the scar on his cheek. Emma felt tears prick her eyes. She had warring emotions churning inside her. On the one hand, she was extremely proud of him. On the other, what he had done was extremely dangerous, too.

              “Well,” her father spoke behind her with obvious admiration in his voice, “That sounds just like Killian, doesn’t it? To rescue slaves. Even if he doesn’t remember being one.”

              “Yeah,” Emma said, “but it was also really risky. The people who run these rings are really dangerous people, Dad. I hope the police got them all, or Killian could have a mark on his head.”

              “But he’s a hero, Emma!” exclaimed Belle. “Saving all those girls.”

              “I already knew he was a hero,” Emma answered softly.

              “And don’t you see what this means?” Belle continued excitedly. “First he was in Kansas, then Tennessee, and then West Virginia. He’s heading east, Emma! He’s trying to get home to you, I know it!”

              “Yeah,” Emma sighed, “but I can’t just sit around any longer and wait. I’m running out of time.”

              “You mean because of the baby?” Belle asked.

              Emma’s head jerked toward Belle sharply. “Who told you?”

              Belle laughed gently. “No one told me, Emma. I figured it out. We’ve been spending a lot of time together. You’ve been falling asleep at the drop of a hat, losing your lunch practically every day. And then I come in here to see you with rice cakes, ginger ale, and peppermint oil? It’s obvious, Emma, especially to another pregnant woman.”

              Emma groaned and put her head in her hands. She had a bad feeling her secret wouldn’t remain a secret for much longer. Belle put her hand on Emma’s shoulder.

              “I am doing another type of research, you know.”

              Emma’s head came up. “What do you mean?”               “I mean, I might have been searching Rumple’s books for a more magical solution to our problem.”

              “And . . .”

              Belle sighed, “Nothing yet, but don’t lose hope Emma.”

              Emma sighed, reached over, and clicked once more on the Twitter photo. She gazed into the face that looked so much like Killian, and yet so different. “I will find you, Killian. I will always find you.”

              ******************************************************************

              Gold’s Pawn Shop was filled with a very interesting crew of determined women. Belle smiled as she looked at them. She wondered if Emma and Killian knew how many people loved them. At that very moment, the bell above the door jangled and Emma and Snow walked in.

              “What’s this?” Emma asked, taking in the group gathered there.

              “Well, it’s like I said on the phone,” Belle explained excitedly. “I’ve found a spell that can show you where Killian is.”

              Emma looked with confusion at those gathered with Belle: Regina, Zelena, Ariel, and Tinkerbell. “And that requires an entire team of people?”

              “Let me explain.” Belle lifted a huge, dusty tome onto the counter and opened it to a page she had marked with a faded ribbon. “I found this spell – it isn’t actually used to find people, but we can use it to our advantage. It’s a spell to allow a person to see through their lover’s eyes.”

              “It’s sort of like a true love’s test,” Zelena piped up. “If you trust your lover, you have nothing to fear. But if they’re messing around . . .”

              “So it’s a spell to catch a cheating lover?” Belle could tell from the sound of Emma’s voice that she didn’t like the sound of that.

              “Well,” explained Belle. “That’s how it’s been used, but we can use it to literally see whatever Killian’s seeing at this very moment. Or at least, you can.”

              Emma smiled. “And then we can figure out where he is! Ok, so what do we need for this spell?”               “All we need is Killian’s tears.”

              Emma narrowed her eyes at Belle. “And you thought I had some lying around at home? Why would I bottle my husband’s tears? That’s sick.”

              “Well . . .” Belle took a deep breath, “you don’t have any, but Rumple told me once that he does.”

              “What!” Emma exploded.

              Regina put her hand on Emma’s arm, “There are a lot of spells involving your enemy’s tears, Emma.”

              “That’s why we’re all here,” Tink stepped forward. “To help Belle find them.”

              Emma looked around at each woman in turn, tears welling up in her eyes. “Thank you,” she whispered, voice full of emotion. Then the women split up; Snow, Emma, Zelena, and Belle took the back of the shop while Regina, Ariel, and Tinkerbell searched the front.

              Ariel was on her knees reaching back into a cabinet, when she suddenly screeched and fell backwards. Tinkerbell and Regina came rushing over. At the front of the cabinet was a glass jar filled with clear liquid . . . and a hand.

              Ariel pointed at it with a trembling hand, “Is, is …that what I think it is?”

              “Oh my God,” Tink whispered, “It’s Hook’s hand!”

              Regina shook her head, “I know I was the evil queen, but for Rumple to keep that hand all these years, well, that’s just sick.”

              “Did you find something?” came Emma’s voice from the back room.

              “Quick!” Tinkerbell whispered to Ariel. “Do something with it!”

              Ariel stood up, holding the jar in her hands. “What do you want me to do with it?” The red head looked around frantically.

              “I don’t know,” hissed Tink. “Just hide it or something!”

              Regina rolled her eyes, “For heaven’s sakes,” she scoffed as she flicked her wrist. The jar and the hand inside disappeared in a puff of purple smoke.

              “Regina!” scolded Tink.

              “What!?” Regina argued with a wave of her hands. “Emma’s been through enough. The last thing she needs to see is her husband’s hand in a jar.”

              “Did you say I need to see something?” Emma asked, stepping through the curtain that led to the back of the shop.

              “Um . . .uh . . .” Ariel stuttered, glancing back and forth between Regina and Tink.

              “Yes!” Tink jumped in, “We think there may be something in the back of this cabinet Ariel found.”

              Emma kneeled down where Ariel had been a moment before. “Why do think that?”

              “Oh. . .”Ariel said with a shrug, “just a hunch.”

              “There is a safe back here,” came Emma’s muffled voice, her head inside the cabinet. “OW!!” Emma yelped, cursing as her head smacked the top of the cabinet. She rubbed her head and looked up at Regina, “A protection spell.”

              Regina called for Zelena and the two of them, along with Tink and Emma, managed to open the safe with their magic. The only thing inside were three small vials. The first two each held a single hair: one blonde, one black.

              “True love,” said Snow, “the strongest magic of all.”

              “Those hairs belong to you and Charming?” Ariel asked.

              “No,” Tink said, smiling, “they belong to Hook and Emma.”

              The third vial had a dropper cap and contained a clear liquid. Emma held it up to the light. “Killian’s tears,” she said softly.

              “Are you sure?” Snow asked.

              “Yes,” Emma said, smiling, “I’m sure.” Emma turned resolutely to Regina. “Ok. Let’s do this. Now.”

              Emma handed the vial to Regina while Belle handed her the book. Regina looked around at everyone nervously, her eyes resting on Emma. “You may not like what you see.”

              “I know. But I have to find him.”

              Regina nodded then told Emma to lie down. She waved her hand over the vial until it glowed. Then she leaned over Emma and put one drop in each of her eyes. Emma gasped, then closed her eyes. Everyone watched her still form.

              “How long is it supposed to take?” Ariel asked.

              Regina shook her head, “I’m not sure.”

              Suddenly, Emma rose up with a start. Everyone rushed to her side.

              “Are you okay, honey?”

              “What did you see?”               "Where is he?”

              Emma smiled and shook her mother a little bit with both hands. “I know exactly where he is! I’ve been there before! It’s Boston Harbor!”

              ***********************************************************************

              Lily leaned against her pool stick as she watched Killian Jones lean over the pool table. Well, he didn’t _know_ he was Killian Jones, but that made it even better. This Killian Jones was more suited to her taste: clean shaven, tight jeans and a tight gray tee shirt instead of all that leather, no jewelry or kohl around his eyes, and brown work boots instead of those pointed black ones he wore in Storybrooke. Finding him had been harder than she had anticipated; he was supposed to stay put in Kansas. But no matter. She knew his cursed name; Emma didn’t.

              Killian made a great shot and gave a little whoop. It was amazing how he could handle a pool stick with one hand. She couldn’t wait to see what else he could do. Lily leaned over to make her shot, her low cut tank top giving him an ample view. When she was finished, she stood to see his eyes ogling her, filled with lust. He lifted his oh-so blue eyes to meet hers.

              “Wanna go out some time?”

              Lily kept it cool. “Sure.”

             

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * Mwhahaha!!! Yes, I know, that ending is tough. But remember, he doesn't remember Emma. At least he doesn't think he's married to Lily or something.  
> * I know this was a long chapter, but I had a lot I needed to get in there before that final Lily scene. That's how I wanted to end it, but I also wanted Emma to know where Killian was before that scene.  
> * The scene in Dark Star Pharmacy actually happened. When I suspected I was pregnant with my third, I asked my husband to pick up a pregnancy test on the way home. The guy at the counter really did say , "I hope you get the answer you want."  
> * The whole human trafficking problem makes me so angry. It was really cathartic to have Killian do something about it.  
> * It's ironic that this fic is about irony because I've been writing about a puking Emma, and then yesterday my oldest started puking. All day long I was taking care of him. Poor thing was really sick. Unless this stomach virus says otherwise, we are supposed to leave for our vacation in the next couple of days. So most likely, it will be a week before I can post again.


	9. Chapter 9

              Emma raced around her bedroom, snatching shirts off hangers from the closet and grabbing undergarments from drawers. She flung things into the open suitcase on her bed, not worrying about folding everything. Her mother watched her with obvious concern.

              “Slow down, Emma,” Snow cautioned gently. “You don’t have to leave right this second.”

              Emma stopped for a moment, angrily tossing a bra into her suitcase. “No, mom, actually, I _do_ have to leave right now. I know where Killian is.”

              “And he’ll still be there in the morning.”

              “Really, mom? You’re sure about that? Because he hasn’t exactly been staying put. Kansas, Tennessee, West Virginia. Do you see the pattern?”

              “But Emma, you’re three months pregnant . . .”

              “Exactly!” Emma shouted in frustration. “How long am I supposed to wait, Mom? Until I’m out to here and waddling? That’ll be a great way to try to convince Killian to drink Zelena’s potion. Hi, as you can see, I’m hugely pregnant. And by the way, it’s your baby. And I’m your wife. Not the way I want it to go down.”

              Snow sat down on the bed and gently tugged Emma down with her. “I’m not asking you to wait _that_ long Emma. I just don’t think it’s a good idea to drive all night as sick as you’ve been.”

              The fight drained out of Emma and she leaned her head on her mother’s shoulder. “You’re right; it wouldn’t be safe.”

              Snow put her arm around her daughter and rubbed Emma’s arm. “And you need to talk to Henry, don’t you think?”

              Emma knew her mother was right, and she was terrified. About all of it. Including telling Henry about the baby.

              ******************************************************************

              Emma picked at her scrambled eggs. Even looking at the eggs was making her stomach churn, but she didn’t want Henry to know that. She watched her son shovel eggs into his mouth and take huge gulps of his orange juice. It reminded her of a morning that seemed like a lifetime ago. The morning she had to explain to her son that they were going to Maine. The morning she knew that life would never be simple again.

              Henry set his fork down. “Okay mom, I’m done. Now you can tell me what you’ve been needing to tell me all morning.”

              Henry stared straight into her eyes with a smirk on his lips that he had definitely gotten from spending time with Killian. _He’s quite the perceptive lad, Swan._ How many times had Killian said that? Emma took a deep breath.

              “Well, first, I’m leaving this morning for Boston.”

              “Boston!” Henry brightened. “That means you found him! That’s why you’re going, right? You found Killian?”

              Emma nodded and felt her eyes well up with tears. _Damn pregnancy hormones._ Henry jumped from his chair and ran to the stairs. “Wait kid, you can’t go with me!’

              Henry turned to her at the bottom step and rolled his eyes. “I know that mom, but I have something I want you to take with you.” Emma smiled as she watched him bound up the stairs two at a time. Yep, he was her kid.

              When Henry came back downstairs he set a leather bound book in front of Emma. It looked just like his other one, but instead of _Once Upon a Time_ embossed across the front, it said _The Pirate and the Princess_. Emma ran her hand lovingly over the words. Hormones or no hormones, this was definitely bringing on the tears.

              “You wrote this, Henry?” Emma asked softly.

              Henry gave a little laugh. “Of course I did. Open it.”

              Emma flipped through the book slowly. It was her and Killian’s story. She felt the tears flow freely as she ran her hand lovingly over several of the pictures. Her cheeks also burned a bit looking at some of them: Killian bandaging her hand at the top of the beanstalk, their kiss in Neverland. Her son was the one who wrote this, after all. She looked up at him. “We’ve never told you about some of this.”

              Henry was blushing too. “It’s like I told all of you in the Underworld, the word’s just come. I don’t know how I know all the details; I just do.” He rushed to clarify when he saw his mother’s startled expression. “I mean, there were no, er . . . um . . . intimate details. I’m not scarred for life, trust me.”

              Emma chuckled. “I just thought,” Henry continued, “that this could help Killian remember.”

              “Thank you, Henry,” Emma stood up and kissed Henry’s forehead. “Now I better get my bags and get on the road.”

              “Mom,” Henry called before Emma could climb the stairs.

              “Yes,” Emma turned and was surprised to see Henry shuffling nervously and avoiding her gaze.

              “Well, um . . . let me help you with your bags.”

              “Okay, kid.” Emma knew that wasn’t what Henry was about to say, but she didn’t press him. He helped her get her bags downstairs and then into the back of her bug. She noticed his brooding silence the entire time, but chose to say nothing about it. Then Henry was hugging her goodbye and promising to stay at Regina’s while she was gone. Emma knew there was something he wanted to ask her, so before she got in the car, she just stood there for a moment giving Henry time to get it out.

              “Mom,” Henry finally said, avoiding her gaze and staring down at his shoes, “would it be alright with you, and do you think Killian would mind if . . . well, I wanted to . . . I didn’t know if, well, if it wouldn’t be too weird . . .” Henry took a deep breath, closed his eyes for a moment and finally looked at Emma and asked, “Would it be okay if I called Killian dad?”

              Emma felt the tears start again. Could this morning get any more emotional? Her voice thick, she smiled and said, “Yes, Henry. If you want to call him Dad, I think that’s wonderful.”

              Henry smiled broadly. Then he gave that Killian-smirk that had rubbed off on him and said, “After all, I need to get him used to it. With the baby on the way and all.”

              Emma gasped. After Henry gave her the book, she had made the admittedly cowardly decision to just wait until Killian was home to tell him about the baby. “How did you . . .”

              “How did I know?” Henry grinned. “What is Dad always saying? _He’s quite the perceptive lad_.”

              Emma laughed. It was a pretty spot-on impression of her pirate. She shook her head and enveloped Henry in a hug. “I love you, kid.”

              “I love you too, Mom. Now go bring Dad home.”

              *******************************************************************

              Finding the spot at Boston Harbor Emma had seen through Killian’s eyes hadn’t been difficult at all. She had been there several times before looking for bail skippers. This particular part of the harbor, where ships unloaded their cargo, was apparently a place rife with criminals. But it was also a place that employed plenty of blue collar workers. Emma approached one such worker who seemed to be in charge of the employees who worked unloading the shipping containers off the large cargo ships.

              “Excuse me sir,” Emma spoke confidently, putting on her tough-as-nails persona as easily as she put on her leather jacket. “Have you seen this man?”

              The older man scratched his balding head with a gloved hand as he looked at the picture Emma had handed him. “Yeah, course I know him. He works for me.”

              Emma took the picture back and tried to stifle her excitement. “When does he get here?”

              “Well, normally he’d be here any minute. He works 2nd shift – 11 to 7 – but today’s his day off.”

              “Oh,” Emma said, deflated.

              “He’s not in some kind of trouble, is he? ‘Cuz he seemed like a good sort when I hired him. Retired navy and all. It’s hard to find good workers these days; and he’s a hard worker.”

              Emma pushed down her emotions. “No, he’s not in trouble. And you’re judgment was right – he is a good guy.”

              The man visibly softened as he looked into Emma’s face. “There’s a coffee shop he goes to every morning before his shift. Even though he’s not working today, he may still be there. Higher Grounds,” the man pointed. “Around the block. That way.”

              Emma thanked the man and headed in the direction he pointed. It wasn’t difficult to find the coffee shop, and she scanned the room as she walked through the door, a lump of nervousness in her throat. But she didn’t see Killian there. She walked up to the counter where a girl in her early twenties was organizing the to-go cups. She turned to Emma with a smile.

              “Hey. What’ll you have?”

              “Actually,” Emma said, holding up Killian’s picture, “I’m looking for this man. Have you seen him?”               The girl’s brown eyes lit up and she smiled. “Yeah, hottie with those gorgeous blue eyes. Comes in here every day at a quarter to 11. Except for Thursdays.”

              She took the picture from Emma’s hand. “Flirting with him is the highlight of my work day.”

              _Of course it is,_ Emma thought dryly. “Do you know his name?”

              “Nope,” the girl said with a shake of her head, “sadly all I’ve had is very innocent flirting.”

              Before Emma could take the picture from her, the girl unfolded it. Emma groaned under her breath. That was the best picture she had of Killian, but she was in it. She should have cut it, but hadn’t had the heart to. Now how was she supposed to explain why she didn’t know Killian’s name?

              “Aww, you two are so cute together.”

Emma knew she was right. It was one of Emma’s favorite pictures. It was taken at Granny’s. The two of them were laughing, but while Killian was looking at the camera, Emma was looking at him. Her mother had taken it during the six weeks of peace before the queens of darkness showed up. Her mother had given it to her and whispered, “Look at your face Emma.” Emma had. If there was any doubt she was in love this picture obliterated it. To say she was looking at Killian with complete adoration was an understatement.

The girl looked at Emma and cocked her head. “It looks like you should know his name.”

Emma laughed in a way she hoped exuded confidence. “Oh, I know it alright. I just don’t know what name he’s using NOW. And it’s _very_ important that I find him before . . . well, before other people do.”

The girl’s eyes widened. “Ohhh . . . woah,” she leaned forward and whispered to Emma. “I’ve seen all the Jason Bourne movies. You’re like his Marie. Wow, intense.”

Emma wasn’t exactly sure what she was trying to imply with her act, but she would gladly go with the girl’s fantasy. This girl was so flighty, she wondered what she would say if she told her the truth. _Actually, he’s Captain Hook and I’m the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming but he doesn’t know that because the daughter of Maleficent put a curse on him._ Emma leaned forward and whispered to the girl, “You’re not too far off, so if you could keep this as quiet as possible, I’d appreciate it.”

The girl nodded. “Right. I’ll be totally cool.” She turned towards the back of the shop. “Hey, Linus, can you come out her?”

A tall, scrawny guy came out of a storage room carrying a box of to-go lids. “Yeah, Dana, what is it?”

Dana held up the picture, “You know that guy who comes in every day at 11? Do you know his name?”

Linus looked at the picture. “Oh yeah, that guy!”

“You mean you know his name?” Emma asked excitedly.

“Nah, which is sad really, ‘cuz he lives in my building. Isn’t it sad how no one gets to know their neighbors anymore?”

“Wait,” Emma held up her hand. “You live in his building?”

“Yeah,” Linus shrugged. “I see him on the elevator. He gets off at the fourth floor while I go up to the sixth.”

Emma snatched the picture from Dana, leaned over the counter, grabbed a sharpie from beside the register, and slapped both down on the counter. Then she looked at Linus and said, “Write the address down.”

                             ***************************************

Emma didn’t really have a plan for what she would say when Killian opened the door. She was too excited about actually seeing him. She tried to formulate a thought – some kind of plan – as she knocked loudly on the door of apartment 415, but all she felt was a stomach full of butterflies. And then, the door was opening, and there he was, looking at her with a slightly confused expression on his face and a tentative, “Hello?” Yeah, she didn’t have a plan, but she certainly didn’t think she would cry out his name and launch herself at him. She just couldn’t help herself.

Later, she would realize it had been a horrible idea, but in the moment, it seemed like it might be working. He was surprised at first, but then he had tilted his head and returned the kiss. Granted, he didn’t kiss her back like she was used to. He didn’t pull her closer or thread his fingers through her hair, but he _was_ kissing her back. It felt strange to kiss him clean-shaven; she was used to the tickle of his stubble against her lips, chin, and cheeks. Yet, at the same time, kissing him was so familiar, like finally being home. He pulled away first, and when he did, Emma was so sure that kiss meant he remembered her that she breathed out, “Killian,” and gazed at him with a glowing smile. But the look of confusion on the face of the man before her made that smile tremble, and then his words wiped it away completely.

“Look, lady, you’re gorgeous, and a pretty great kisser, but I think you have the wrong apartment.”

“Well, at least you didn’t kick me,” Emma laughed a little, until something else dawned on her. “Wait a minute, where’s your accent?”

“My accent?” Killian narrowed his eyes and shook his head. “Oh, well, see, that’s what I’m trying to tell you. I’m not from Boston. And I’m not this Killian person. My name’s James Roger and I’m from Kansas. I moved here two weeks ago.”

Emma quirked an eyebrow. “James Roger? Lily couldn’t be more original than that? And Kansas? You’re from Kansas?” she emphasized the “you’re,” pointing at Killian.

“Yeess…” Killian looked at her warily.

“Land-locked Kansas.” And suddenly Emma found the whole thing hilarious. She put her hand over her mouth to stop the giggles, but to no avail. Soon, she was doubled over laughing. _Great, he’s really gonna think you’re crazy now!_ But she just couldn’t stop laughing.

“Do you need help? Do you want me to call someone for you?” Killian was looking frantically up and down the hall as if he needed someone to help _him_.

Suddenly, Emma was clutching her stomach and putting a hand to her mouth for a completely different reason. She pushed past Killian and into his apartment. “Bathroom! I need your bathroom!” Mercifully, the apartment was small, and the door to the bathroom was ajar. Emma reached the toilet just in time. _Lucky me. Killian’s cursed self is still meticulously clean_ , she thought to herself as she hugged the toilet.

“Aw, come on lady, really? You barge in here and puke in my toilet? Are you on drugs?”

Emma couldn’t respond as she heaved again into the toilet. The whole idea of making yourself eat to avoid morning sickness was not working for Emma. At all.

Killian groaned outside the door, then called out to her, “You’re cleaning that up, you know that, right?”

Emma managed a chuckle. “When you get your memories back, you are SO paying for this! This _is_ half your fault, you know.”

“Ok, that’s it. You are obviously insane, lady. You’re gonna clean that up and then get the hell out of here, or I’m calling the cops.”

“And the irony just keeps coming,” Emma groaned but could say no more as she retched up the rest of her breakfast. If she had made a plan, this wouldn’t have been it.

              ****************************************************

Emma drummed her fingers nervously on the table and glanced for what felt like the millionth time at the door of the coffee shop. She lifted her hot chocolate to her lips and sipped. You would think hot chocolate wouldn’t be the beverage of choice for a nauseated pregnant woman, but Emma had woken up that morning craving one. Both Belle and Zelena had told her that the stomach of a pregnant woman makes no sense. That was definitely true this morning. The hot chocolate was the most wonderful thing she had tasted in days.

However, she was way more concerned with the man who came into this coffee shop like clockwork every day at 10:45 (except for Thursdays). After the fiasco at his apartment yesterday, Emma had gone back to her hotel room to formulate a plan. Okay, so she had actually cried for an hour, slept for another two, and THEN worked on a plan. She had brought several things with her from Storybrooke to help jog Killian’s memory and convince him to drink the potion. She needed to use them. Emma had also learned her lesson yesterday. She needed to be WAY more . . . gentle in her approach. That was assuming Killian would get within ten feet of her after yesterday. Emma remembered how crazy she thought Killian was when he came to New York. And he hadn’t puked in her bathroom.

Emma sat up straighter when she saw Dana behind the counter brighten and glance her way. Dana was her accomplice.

“Good morning, Dana!” said Killian brightly as he approached the counter. Emma took a moment to really look at him. He dressed differently than he did in Storybrooke. His jeans weren’t as dark or as tight. Of course, skinny jeans probably weren’t appropriate for blue collar work at the docks. He just wore a t-shirt, which meant you could see his brace. The Killian she knew was self-conscious about that. She was the only one who ever saw him in short sleeves. Until now.

Emma snapped herself back to attention. Dana was pointing at her and explaining something to Killian. Emma smiled and gave a little wave.

“Are you serious?” he asked Dana.

Dana nodded sternly. “Dead serious. If you want your coffee, you have to go over there.”

Killian sighed and ran his hand through his hair. He walked over to Emma’s table. “Can I have my coffee please?”

Emma smiled, but tried to keep her expression calm. She gestured to the chair in front of her, “I really would like for you to sit down with me, for just a few moments. Please? I _did_ pay for your coffee.”

Killian just stood there looking at her, arms crossed.

Emma tried again. “I want to apologize. And make it up to you. You know, for . . . using your bathroom yesterday?”

Killian sighed and took a seat. “Apology accepted, but I can’t stay long. I’ve got work.”

“I know,” said Emma, handing him his coffee. “There’s just something I’ve gotta say to you, and I just need you to hear me out. It won’t take long.”

Killian took a sip of his coffee and said hesitantly, “Okay.”

Emma took a deep breath. “I know you think your name is James Roger and that you’re from Kansas, but it isn’t true. Your name is Killian Jones, and I’m here to take you home. To Storybrooke, Maine. You’ve just lost your memories of your real home. And I can prove it to you.” Emma pulled a stack of pictures out of her purse and slid them across the table. It wasn’t a large stack; just 6 pictures. She couldn’t bring any that showed his hook. Getting him to believe he was her husband, Killian Jones, was one thing. Getting him to believe he was Captain Hook was another.

Killian eyed her warily but picked up the photos anyway. The first was a selfie of the two of them and Henry. “Who’s the boy?” Killian asked.

“My son,” Emma answered, watching Killian’s face carefully. “That was the day you first got your phone. Henry was teaching you how to use the camera.”

“A kid had to teach me how to use a cell phone?” Killian scoffed. “Who doesn’t know how to use a cell phone? What, are you telling me I’m actually a 90 year old man? A time traveler?”

Emma snorted into her hot chocolate and almost choked. Kilian tossed the pictures back across the table, “How do I know these are even legit? You could have photo shopped those pictures.”

Emma rolled her eyes. _Am I being punished for New York?_ She slid the pictures back to him. “Just humor me, please?”

Killian sighed and sifted through the rest of them. A selfie of just the two of them. The picture her mother had taken on their first date. The photo Emma had shown Dana, now with a crease in the middle. A group selfie her dad had taken on the way back from New York in Gold’s car with Zelena and Snow; all four of them making goofy faces. Killian held that one up. “Who are these people?”

“Your friends,” Emma said softly.

And finally, a picture of her and Killian on their wedding day. It was a close up of their first dance; their foreheads pressed together, both of them with their eyes closed. Even so, it was obvious that it was a wedding photo. Emma’s hair, the bouquet she held in the hand that was wrapped around Killian’s neck, his bowtie, and the twinkling lights in the background. Killian held that one up, too. “You’re not saying . . .”

“Yes,” Emma said softly, “I’m your wife.”

Killian tossed the photos on the table and stood up abruptly. “This is insane. None of this makes sense.” He gestured at the pictures. “If what you’re saying is true; I would remember all of this.”

“That’s what I’m trying to tell you. Someone stole your memories, and if you don’t come home with me, this person may hurt you.”

Killian clenched his jaw. “I’m not going anywhere with you.” And began to walk away.

Emma felt panic well up inside her. She grabbed Killian’s left hand as he tried to walk past her to the door. “Please Killian, just . . . just think about what I’m saying. Your gut will tell you what to do.”

Killian looked down at Emma’s hand and seemed to be deep in thought. His jaw was clenching; she knew that meant he was wrestling with his emotions. “All my gut tells me is that this is crazy.”

“I know it sounds crazy,” Emma admitted with a sigh. “Will you meet me when you get off work? You’ll have time to think, and we can . . . talk some more.”

Killian shook his head. “I can’t,” he removed Emma’s hand from his. “I have a date.” Then he resolutely marched towards the door.

Emma felt as if icy water had been poured over her. “Wait!” she called after him. “Who is your date with?”

Killian narrowed his eyes at her. “Not that it’s any of your business, but her name is Lily.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * I hadn't planned on Henry figuring out on his own that Emma was pregnant, but that's how it flowed when I wrote it.  
> * I did write a lot over vacation, but inspiration struck for a one shot, so I actually only wrote two chapters for this fic and the beginning of a third. But I still should be able to update this story with a new chapter every day for the next few days. There will only be about three, maybe four more chapters.  
> * Up next, Emma stakes out Killian's date with Lily. Prepare your souls!


	10. Chapter 10

              Emma didn’t know if she was desperate, paranoid, or just a sucker for punishment. Regardless, here she was, trying to be inconspicuous at the bar so she could keep an eye on Killian’s date with Lily. Her husband. And Lily. On a date. What _was_ her life?

              She knew this was going to be painful. Like cutting yourself with a razor blade then pouring salt on it painful. But what choice did she have? This wasn’t just about Lily seducing her clueless husband. According to Regina and Zelena, Lily was also a deadly threat. Sure, it was unlikely she could hurt him in Boston. “The Land Without Magic” may have been a misnomer, but there was nowhere near enough belief in Boston, not even the entire country, to allow Lily to transform into a dragon. But all Lily had to do was take Killian to Storybrooke and over the town line. Therefore, Emma wasn’t about to let him out of her sight while Lily was around. Even if it broke her heart.

              Emma remembered accusing Killian of being a stalker back in New York. In some ways, she was right. The only explanation for him showing up at her date with Walsh was that he had been following her. And now here Emma was, stalking Killian. Lucky for her pregnant self, she hadn’t had to stake out his work or beat the pavement to make it to the bar and grille where Killian was bringing Lily. Thankfully, all she had needed was to overhear one conversation between Killian and a co-worker outside the coffee shop.

              “James!” the other man had said, slapping Killian on the back. “I had to wait out here for you so I could ask about the blonde. Wow! Are you dating her?”

              “No, Bobby, no way.” Killian replied, rubbing his face wearily.

              “Why the hell not? Don’t you have eyes? She’s hot!”

              “She’s beautiful, alright, but she’s crazy, man! She’s practically stalking me.”

              “With a body like that, who cares? Besides, you’ve done the same thing day in, day out, James, ever since you moved here. You need some spice in your life. And that blonde I saw you with is spicy, I can tell.”

              “For your information, I already have a date tonight.”

              “Oh really, as hot as blondie back there?”

              “Well,” Killian scratched behind his ear, and Emma inwardly cheered when she heard the next part, “I have to admit, my date doesn’t hold a candle to that beauty, but I guess she’s cute enough. And on the upside, she’s one hundred percent _sane.”_

“Where’d you meet her?”

              “Jekyll & Hyde’s.”

              “Of course,” Bobby chuckled, “you go there every single night after your shift. Don’t tell me that’s where you’re taking her.” When Killian blushed to the tips of his elfish ears, the other man guffawed.

              “Why not? It’s where we met, so I know she likes it!”

              By then, Emma had tailed the men to the docks. The sidewalks had ended and there was no way she could follow them now without being seen. But she had heard all she needed to know.

              So now, here she was, hoping the bartender didn’t tell her to sit somewhere else unless she planned on ordering something more than a ginger ale. Emma was also wearing glasses instead of her contacts and had her hair in a loose bun with a scarf wrapped around her head. She couldn’t take any chances that Lily would recognize her. She just hoped Killian wouldn’t tell his date about his strange visitor. Chances were good that he would keep his mouth shut. It was generally a bad idea for a man to bring up another woman on a first date. Even a crazy, puking one.

              Emma recognized Lily coming through the door before she recognized her husband. For one, Lily was laughing loudly and boisterously. For another, Killian was wearing khakis and a blue-checkered button up shirt. She never thought in a million years she would see Killian Jones in khakis. Captain Hook in khakis. Would wonders never cease?

              But he still looked so handsome, her heart ached. And when he placed his hand at the small of Lily’s back as they followed the hostess to their seat, Emma’s heart cracked just a little. And when he pulled out Lily’s chair with a smile, she thought it might shatter into a thousand pieces. You would think she was being forced to watch them make out. How was she going to get through this?

              “Do you actually want to order something? Or do you just want more ginger ale?”               Emma reluctantly tore her eyes away from Killian’s date to face the bartender. She looked over the menu, biting her lip.

              “Um, this pretzel burger?” Emma asked, feeling a bit shy. “Can I just get the pretzel part?”

              “You mean just the bun?”

              Emma felt like she had “pregnant” tattooed on her forehead. “Yeah, that sounds SO good. Ya know, cuz, it’s a pretzel . . .”

              Emma trailed off as the man raised his eyebrows at her. But he still brought her the pretzel bun. She tore it into pieces and chewed slowly as she watched Killian and Lily. Killian was facing the bar and Lily’s back was to her, so she could only judge the date by Killian’s face and body language. He was smiling and laughing, which tore at Emma’s gut, but she knew how he acted on _their_ first date, and she noticed none of the tells she had noticed that night. He didn’t blush, duck his head nervously, or scratch behind his ear. Neither did he lean across the table and take Lily’s hand. But the conversation didn’t seem to be stalling, and Lily was leaning forward in her seat (whether that was to show interest in what Killian was saying or to show off her cleavage, Emma wasn’t sure). To most people, it would look like a nice first date. Definitely not a _bad_ date. Emma squirmed uncomfortably in her seat. This was going to be a _long_ night.

              Finally, after finishing her meal, Lily gave Emma the opportunity she had been waiting for all night. Lily stood, set her napkin down on her chair, and headed to the ladies’ room. Emma noted with satisfaction that instead of watching Lily’s retreating figure, Killian immediately picked up his phone. _Sorry, honey, he’s just not that into you. My turn._ Emma removed her glasses and the scarf and ran her fingers through her hair as she approached Killian’s table. She remembered approaching a different clueless Killian in a different realm and time. That was a piece of cake compared to this. All she had to do then was play the sexy bar wench to his playboy pirate. This was far more complicated.

              Emma slid into the seat across from Killian. Not looking up from his phone at first, Killian said, “Wow, that was fast! Usually women take -“ he stopped talking when he looked up and saw Emma. “You! You _are_ a stalker.”

              Emma gave him what she hoped was her sweetest smile. “Maybe I just want to go out with you.”

              “Well, you have a weird way of pursuing a guy. You are insane!”

              “I prefer dashing rapscallion,” Emma said with a horrible imitation of Killian’s accent and a quirk of one eyebrow.

              “Huh?”

              Emma shook her head. “Sorry, inside joke.”

              “See, that’s the thing. You and I,” Killian gestured between them, “don’t have inside jokes. You don’t even know me!”

              “Actually, I know you better than you know yourself,” Emma looked nervously behind Killian’s shoulder. She didn’t have a lot of time. “And I know you _will_ meet me here, tomorrow night, after your shift at work.”

              “And why would I do that?”

              “Because there’s something about your life that just feels off. You have memories that are fuzzy with lots of holes. And –“ Emma was taking a risk with this one, “you’ve dreamt of me.”

              During that year in New York, Emma had dreamt of Killian. Mostly of their kiss in Neverland. And that was before they were even together. She figured then that Killian had certainly been dreaming about her. And from the shocked expression on his face, it looked like she was right.

                             **********************************************

              If watching Killian and Lily in the restaurant was painful, this was sheer torture. This was the part she had been dreading the most. She had followed Killian’s motorcycle to Lily’s apartment. Watching Lily straddle the motorcycle behind Killian and wrap her arms around his waist was bad enough. Now he was helping her off the bike and taking the helmet from her. He laughed and smoothed some stray hands of her hair. Emma clutched her steering wheel until her knuckles turned white.

              Killian turned and walked with Lily up the steps of her apartment building. This particular building was perfect for a stake out. The doors to each apartment were outside, facing the street, with walkways connecting the apartments at the upper levels. The stairwell was also exposed and the whole complex was well lit. Killian walked Lily up to the second floor and across one of the walkways to her door. Emma’s stomach clenched. Would he kiss her goodnight? Would he go in? And what about Lily? Would she let this play out naturally? Or would she speed things along with a little magic? Emma hoped fervently for the first. As far as she could tell, Lily had no idea Emma was in town. Therefore, she could date Killian at her leisure. _Very_ leisurely, Emma hoped.

              Killian and Lily were talking, Lily’s back to her door. Emma stared hard at her husband, hoping she could make him walk away with her thoughts. Unfortunately, Killian was moving closer to Lily, then he was swaying towards her. Then he was kissing her. Emma couldn’t help the tears that streamed down her face. She looked down at her lap, unable to watch any longer. Then she was afraid to look again. What if she saw Killian going into the apartment? She might just throw all caution out the window, march up there, and drag her husband out. He would _definitely_ call the cops on her then, and he might never trust her enough to drink the memory potion. Zelena said he had to drink it willingly. Then again, if Lily got what she wanted from him, he was in danger. Emma wasn’t sure what to do. She took three deep breaths, then lifted her head. They were gone. The walkway was empty.

              Emma felt her heart shatter and with a strangled sob, dropped her head down on her steering wheel. _What do I do? What do I do?_ Then she heard it. A motorcycle revving. She looked up and through her tears saw Killian, astride his motorcycle, driving away from the complex. She had missed Killian saying good-bye and walking away, not the two of them going inside. Emma slumped in her seat with relief. With shaking hands, she started the bug and pulled into traffic. Her nerves were shot and her emotions were completely frayed. She planned on going to her hotel room and sleeping until noon the next day.

              As Emma drove to her hotel, she thought. And the more she thought, the angrier she felt. Another woman was trying to steal her husband from her, and she wasn’t about to let that happen.

              _You may have scored a date with “James Roger,” Lily Page, but tomorrow it’s Emma Swan’s turn. And Emma Swan always gets her man._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * I had this chapter all planned out - except, apparently, how to end it. I re-wrote the ending several times, until the line "Emma Swan always gets her man" from New York City Serenade came into my head. I know that, technically, she is Emma Swan Jones now, but it sounded better without the "Jones."   
> * I know the date seemed all over the map - Killian's into her, no he isn't, yes maybe he is - but that was intentional because it's from Emma's point of view. The next chapter will be from Killian's point of view, and then you'll know how HE felt on the date.


	11. Chapter 11

              James Roger couldn’t believe he was doing this. More than that, he couldn’t believe he was this nervous or taking this much time to get ready. This wasn’t a date. This was . . . it was . . . well, okay, he wasn’t sure what it was, but it certainly _wasn’t_ a date. It didn’t really matter what he wore, so he’d just put on some khakis – um, scratch that, no khakis. For some reason he just couldn’t let this blonde woman see him again in khakis. He rummaged through his drawers and his closet, but nothing seemed acceptable.

              For some reason, he found himself pulling out the clothes he had been wearing when he woke up in that cornfield in Kansas. He liked tight jeans, but these were so tight he couldn’t fit his wallet in his pocket. Then there was the black leather jacket, which wasn’t so bad, and the red leather vest. It was the vest that was odd to him. That and the flask he had found in the inside pocket of the jacket. The dark blue button down shirt was nice, but when he awoke in that cornfield he had also been wearing a ridiculous amount of jewelry and _eyeliner. What am I, a pirate?_ , he had grumbled to himself. The way he was dressed had made no sense. It was no wonder the farmer who had stumbled upon him thought he was on drugs.

              He remembered what that blonde woman had said to him last night. She was right. His memories _were_ fuzzy with lots of holes. In some ways, he felt his life didn’t begin until he woke up in that cornfield. He had told the farmer all about himself. He was James Roger, born and raised in Wichita, Kansas. His childhood? Okay, he guessed, it was all sort of vague. His parents were Brennan and Elizabeth Rogers, deceased. How and when did they die? He didn’t know. He and his brother Liam had joined the Navy to get away from flat, dry, boring Kansas and see the world. His brother died serving his country in the same attack that took Killian’s hand. The details of that, again, were fuzzy. He had been honorably discharged and came home to marry his fiancé, Milah Gold, and be a stepdad to her son Neal. But she had felt uncomfortable with his disability and his post-traumatic stress disorder, and the relationship fell apart. He could rattle off all these things about his life. He even could conjure a picture in his mind of each of his loved ones. But he had no funny anecdotes, no specifics about the major events of his life. That vet he talked to in Tennessee told him it was probably because of his PTSD, and it would all make sense with time. He had decided to accept that; to see this as an opportunity for a fresh start.

              And then, two days ago, he opened his door to that striking blonde and suddenly his life felt like a house of cards. The moment he saw her, she looked familiar. She was the blonde who had been haunting his dreams. Her lips on his felt so right, he kissed her back, even though he knew it was crazy. Crazy. How many times had he used that word in the past two days? Everything the woman said was crazy. He wasn’t who he thought he was? His whole life was a lie? She was his _wife_? No. It wasn’t possible. There was no way he could have completely forgotten one life and made up a new one. And there was no way – no possible way – a man could be married to a woman that beautiful and not remember it.

              And yet . . . and yet, there were the pictures. He said they could be fake, but they certainly _looked_ real. And the dreams he had of this women, some of them, were . . . intimate. The feelings of longing and sadness he felt when he awoke from those dreams felt very real, too. She had been right about _so_ many things, it was uncanny. Like she could read his mind.

              And then there was his hand. His prosthetic hand, that is. She had grabbed it at the coffee shop so naturally. She hadn’t flinched at her mistake, hadn’t so much as glanced at it. From what he could tell, she didn’t even seem to notice the difference. No one, _no one_ , had ever been that familiar or at ease with his disability. It had scared him so badly, he had run from her that morning.

              Not that it made any difference. He couldn’t get her out of his head. Even on his date last night, he was thinking of her. Even before she had shown up, he was imagining the blonde across from him instead, hair done up, wearing a pale pink dress. It was more like a memory than a fantasy. His goodnight kiss with Lily had been okay, but it didn’t hold a candle to the kiss two days before with the blonde at his door. On Wednesday night, when he had made plans with Lily, he had been thinking like a typical hot-blooded bachelor. Lily seemed like an easy score, and he was up for a fun night, even if it went nowhere. But the blonde had changed everything. Saying goodbye to Lily last night, he was already thinking about meeting the mysterious blonde. And suddenly going inside with Lily hadn’t seemed at all appealing.

              He ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. He finally decided on the dark blue shirt and skinny jeans he had been wearing when he woke up in the cornfield. He also dug out the black leather boots and decided to skip shaving. That should please the blonde woman. But there was no way he was wearing that vest or all that jewelry. Hell, he wasn’t even sure why he had kept it. At least now he would feel more confident with his not-a-date without looking like he was trying too hard. He wasn’t _trying_ to look like the version of himself in those pictures she had. Because that wasn’t him. And this wasn’t a date.

              *********************************************************************

              He swore, every time he saw this woman she was more beautiful than the last time. He watched her through the window of the bar and grille, nervously second-guessing meeting her. What was he thinking? This was insane! He didn’t even know this woman’s name! But then he looked at her again through the window. She seemed nervous, fiddling with a straw wrapper and biting her bottom lip as she watched the door. He suddenly felt guilty for putting her through this. But – wait – why should he feel guilty? He groaned. As much as it didn’t make sense, he knew he had to meet her. He felt an inexorable pull to this woman that he just couldn’t shake, and it wasn’t as if she were unpleasant to be around. He walked through the door to the restaurant before he could change his mind.

              Her face lit up as he approached her table, the way it always did when she saw him. It was a look that made him uncomfortable; it was a look full of familiarity – and love. He also noticed a hungry look enter her eyes as she quickly surveyed him up and down. He was suddenly very, very glad he had dug out those clothes.

              Her smile trembled a bit as he sat down across from her. “I was afraid you wouldn’t come.”

              James leaned back in his chair, determined to play it cool. He leaned on his good hand, quirked an eyebrow at her and said, “How could I resist a woman who goes to such lengths to have dinner with me?” He ran his tongue across his bottom lip and said huskily, “And who knows what lengths you’ll go to for, well . . . more intimate things?”

              He truly didn’t know what came over him. He was _not_ the type of guy who talked to women that way. He half expected the blonde to get offended – yell at him – leave in a huff, but she did none of those things. Her response surprised him. She smiled brightly and said, “Now, there’s my pirate!”

              James had no idea how to respond to that. He squirmed a little, sitting up straighter in his seat. The woman gestured to the tumbler in front of him, “I got you some rum.”

              “Rum! Ugh, that stuff’s too sweet,” he waved over the waitress. “Can I have a beer please?”

              “Well, at least you didn’t tell me you’re allergic and order goat’s milk.” The blonde laughed at her own joke. He had a strange feeling that he was supposed to get the punch line.

              The waitress returned with his beer and then took his order. After she left, James looked back at his . . . date, “So, what did you want to talk to me about?”

              “Those photos I showed you, would you look at them again?” She pulled them out of the messenger bag at her side. “I thought they might jog your memory.”

              James groaned. “Not this again!” At the startled – and sad? – look on her face, James regretted his tone. He was drawn to this woman, attracted to her in a way he had never felt before. The last thing he wanted to do was ruin this chance to get to know her. The _real_ her, not the one trying to lure him in to her crazy fantasy. He leaned forward and took her hand, rubbing his thumb over her knuckles. He softened his voice, “I’m sorry. I just thought we could take some time to get to know each other.”

              She looked down at his hand atop hers, then looked up at him. He was startled to see tears in her eyes. He smiled gently at her.

              “Time is a luxury I don’t have,” she whispered. She leaned forward and grasped both his hands firmly with hers – both his real hand and his prosthetic. Once again, it seemed completely natural for her to do so. “Killian, please, _think_. This life you have; it’s all based on a lie.”

              He didn’t correct her on the name. He didn’t argue with her. He simply creased his brow, trying to catch a fleeting thought. He was suddenly so confused!

              She must have sensed it. “Something about your life just seems, off, doesn’t it?”

              Softly, he answered her. “Let’s say that’s true. Let’s say that the life in those pictures is real. I mean, it seems wonderful, really it does. Much better than the one I’ve been living. But how do I . . .”

              She reached again into her messenger bag and pulled out a little vial of purple liquid. “Drink this,” she said, “and it will all make sense.”

              He jerked his hands away from hers.

              “I know how it sounds, but –“               Her face suddenly went pale, and her hand fluttered up to her mouth. “Excuse me,” she muttered, and hastily dashed off to the ladies’ room.

              James leaned back thoughtfully in his chair. Pieces were starting to fall into place. She was sick again. She had gotten sick in his apartment. He stared thoughtfully at the purple liquid sitting in the center of the table.

              “Excuse me,” he said, stopping their waitress as she walked past, “what is my . . . date drinking?”

              “Ginger ale.”

              James narrowed his eyes at the vial of liquid once more and shook his head. How could he have been so stupid? Just because she was beautiful!               “I’m so sorry about that,” she apologized as she took her seat. “And I know how I felt when I was in your shoes, but Henry gave me something that –“

              James stopped her. “I know what this is.”

              The blonde stopped as she pulled a thick book out of her bag. “You do?”

              “You getting sick. You drinking hot chocolate at the coffee shop and then ordering ginger ale from the bar. Not to mention you didn’t order any food and instead sit here nibbling crackers.” He picked up a crumpled piece of plastic filled with cracker crumbs and tossed it angrily across the table. He leaned forward and pointed an accusatory finger in the blonde’s face. He tried not to react when she flinched slightly. “You’re pregnant! You’re pregnant, and you can’t remember who the father is.”

              Her eyes grew wide. “I . . .”

              “No, don’t! What?” he picked up the purple liquid. “What happens? I drink this, wake up, and can’t remember a damn thing? Then you show up a month or two from now, insisting I’m this kid’s father?”

              “Lower your voice,” she whispered, eyes darting around the room.

              James lowered his voice with clenched teeth. “It’s not happening, lady.”

              Once the anger passed, he took a moment to look at this woman. To really look at her. She clutched that book, whatever it was, tightly to her chest, her blonde hair falling like a curtain to hide her face. Almost as if she were shielding herself from the onslaught of his words. He felt the fight drain out of him. She looked up at him with tears streaming down her face. “I should go,” she whispered.

              He suddenly felt like the worst human being on the face of the earth. “I mean,” he said, softer, “I think you need help. Like, professional help. Can I take you somewhere?”

              She shook her head as she stood, gathering her things. She set the book she held down in front of him. “Keep this,” she told him, “and the potion. Read the book, and maybe . . .” She leaned down and placed a kiss on the top of his head. “Come back to me, Killian.”

              Then she was walking out the door.

              James shook his head, trying to clear it, then looked down at the book she had given him. _The Pirate and the Princess_. He narrowed his eyes. She had called him her pirate earlier. He opened the book to a random page, and his eyes fell on an illustration of a man lying on the ground next to a huge metal tub of water. A beautiful blonde woman leaned over him, as if to kiss him. _Come back to me, Killian._ He ran his hand over the picture. His heart pounded so loud, it was like a drum beat reverberating throughout his entire body. He picked up the vial and just knew. He had to drink it.

              “I can’t believe I’m doing this,” he muttered as he popped the tiny cork. Before he could change his mind, he downed the liquid.

              Killian Jones was suddenly bombarded in one moment with more memories than any human being should have to handle. Love, pain, ecstasy, and joy flooded him in waves as image after image flashed before his brain. He gasped, dropping the vial in his hand to shatter on the floor. One word stood above all others.

              “Emma!” he shouted, standing up so fast his chair clattered to the floor.

Killian turned and ran out the door of the restaurant, shouting her name as loud as he could. He scanned the Saturday night crowds on the sidewalks, searching for her. Finally, there! He saw her golden blonde head walking away from him in the crowd. “Emma!” he shouted again. “Emma!” She turned at the sound of her name, her eyes frantically searching. “Emma!” he shouted again, shoving people aside in his haste to reach her. She saw him then to, and began running towards him.

They practically crashed into one another, and Killian’s mouth immediately found hers. He kissed her as if he was a drowning man and she was air. Rain started to fall gently as they continued the kiss, but neither of them cared. “You found me,” he gasped as they finally parted.

Emma shrugged one shoulder in a nonchalant manner that contrasted with the tears that stained her face. “I’m a Charming. It’s what I do.”

Killian held her tightly to him, tangling his fingers in her hair. Emma burrowed her face into his neck and murmured, “I thought I’d lost you. I didn’t think you would ever drink that damn potion.”

Killian chuckled. “Now you know how I felt, you stubborn lass.”

Emma leaned back to look into his face. “It’s so good to hear your accent again! I love you so much, Killian.”

“I love you too, Emma,” he breathed as he bent to kiss her again. “How could I have forgotten you, my love?”

“Don’t feel too badly, after all, even my parents couldn’t remember each other when they were cursed. What made you finally drink that potion, anyway?”

“The book. I opened it to the picture of when you saved me after Zelena and the crocodile tried to drown me. You said the same thing then that you said just now. _Come back to me Killian_.”

“But how could you have heard me?” Emma asked in wonder as she stroked his cheek. “You were unconscious.”

Killian smiled down at her with adoration in his eyes. “I guess my heart heard you.” Then they kissed again, heedless of the pouring rain and the crowds, lost once again in a love that nothing could tear asunder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * Do you ever write a fantastic paragraph that you love, only to accidentally delete it? Then no matter what buttons you push, you can't get it back? That happened while I was writing this chapter. The paragraph where Killian finally decides what to wear on his "not-a-date" was so much better in the one I accidentally deleted. Oh well, hopefully this version still worked.  
> * Writing this chapter was harder than I anticipated for two reasons: One, Killian was still James at this point. So I had to keep calling him James, which was weird. And if you're wondering, his cursed name is James because in every other version of the Captain Hook story, his name is Captain James Hook. Second, this chapter was hard because Emma still hadn't told him her name. I hope it wasn't too awkward to have Killian constantly referring to her as "the blonde" or just "she." But I wanted that dramatic moment after he drinks the potion and says, "Emma!"  
> * In the next chapter, Killian has some big news to deal with, and Emma faces a challenge of her own.


	12. Chapter 12

              As soon as Killian got his memories back, he and Emma quickly made their way back to his apartment where they immediately tumbled into his bed. Killian whispered “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” over and over against her skin, until Emma yanked on his hair, forcing him to look at her.

              “Listen, I didn’t come all this way and go to all this trouble to hear you apologize. So shut up and ravish me already.”

              Emma didn’t have to tell her pirate twice. He did just that. Thoroughly. Later, in the shelter of Killian’s arms, Emma fell into the deepest sleep she’d had in months.

              ****************************************************************

              The next morning, when the earliest rays of sun came shining through the curtains, they both knew they couldn’t linger in each other arms, though they desperately wanted to. They had to get back to Storybrooke before Lily got wind of what happened. Emma leaned against her bug as Killian shoved the last box of his things into the back seat.

              “That’s it?” she asked him, incredulous.

              “What did you expect? Lily plopped me down in a cornfield with naught but the clothes on my back. It’s surprising I have this much. And as for my new wardrobe –“

              “We’ll burn it.”

              Killian laughed. He was embarrassed that Emma had seen him dressed like such a git.

              “What about the motorcycle?” Emma asked gesturing to where it was parked.

              “Oh that,” Killian rubbed the back of his neck. “The man who gave it to me thought he was giving it to an injured veteran. It wouldn’t be good form to keep it, so I gave it to a lad who lives on my floor. Only 20 when he lost his leg from the knee down in Afghanistan. He’s been admiring the bike since I moved here.”

              Emma smiled and wrapped her arms around her husband’s waist. “You’re a good man, Killian Jones.”

              As usual, Killian was uncomfortable with Emma’s praise. He turned red to the tips of his ears and replied hoarsely, “I’m trying to be.”

              She pulled his head down to hers and kissed him gently. “I’ve been meaning to ask you – why Boston?”

              Killian shrugged. “When I woke up in Kansas, I just had this strong desire to go east. When I got to Boston, it just felt right. Maybe, in my heart, in reminded me of you.”

              “Well, the next time, can your heart just say, _Her name is Emma and she’s in Storybrooke, Maine_? It would save me a lot of trouble.”

              Killian chuckled. “I’m hoping there won’t _be_ a next time. And speaking of Storybrooke –“

              “Yes, let’s go home.”

              “Yes, home,” Killian agreed. He then took Emma by surprise, holding out his palm and saying, “So, the keys if you don’t mind.”

              Emma’s eyes widened. “The keys! Since when do you know how to drive?”

              “Since I spent two months in your realm, on my own, as James Roger.”

              “You can drive with one hand?”

              Killian gave her a positively sinful look. “Emma,” he drawled, running his tongue along his bottom lip, “you, of all people, should know I can do better with one hand what most men do with two.”

              Emma crossed her arms with a huff, trying (and failing) not to let Killian see how his innuendo affected her. “That may be so, but it’s still my car.”

              “And you’re still struggling with morning sickness, are you not?” Killian asked softly, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. It still amazed her how quickly he could shift from cocky and flirty to tender and concerned.

              “You know?” Emma breathed softly.

              “Aye,” Killian tenderly traced her jaw with his fingertip. “James Roger may have been wrong about a lot of things, but he got that one right. Didn’t he?”

              Emma groaned and stomped her foot. “This is _not_ how I wanted you to find how. It was supposed to be special, and . . . and romantic. My mom found all these cute ideas on pinterest of how to tell your husband you’re expecting. And now I can’t do any of it.” She stopped rambling and rested her forehead on Killian’s chest. “Can’t _anything_ be normal for us?”

              He didn’t laugh at her outburst or tell her it didn’t matter. He just wrapped his arms around her, squeezed her tight, and then spoke gently, “I know it seems that way, love. I’m sorry.”

              She looked up at him, “But not sorry that we’re having a baby, right? I mean, you’re okay with it, aren’t you?”

              “Okay with it? Emma, this is marvelous news! I never thought in a million years I would have this honor, especially with a woman as amazing as you.”

              Emma felt her face might crack with the force of her smile. She threw her arms around his neck, threaded her fingers through his hair, and kissed him with enthusiasm.

              Killian pulled back with a chuckle. “And now, the keys.” When Emma arched an eyebrow, he silenced her by tenderly thumbing the dimple in her chin, “Don’t be such a bloody stubborn woman, please. Just let me take care of you for once?”

              Emma sighed. She had to admit, she was bone weary, and the idea of driving all that way sounded like torture. She also wasn’t sure how far they would make it before she got sick. Why was she always so against Killian taking care of her? He loved that she was a “tough lass,” but he was also her safe place where she could be weak. Right now, she needed him to be the strong one, so Emma handed him the keys.

              ****************************************************************

              Emma didn’t make it long before she had to ask Killian to pull over. They were only a block away from his apartment complex, and she was puking into a public trash can. She tried not to think about how disgusting it was. Killian was there, of course, holding her hair back with his good hand and rubbing her back with his prosthetic. She wanted to ask him to put his hook back on, she had brought it with her, but she knew it was safer to wait until they were home. The cool metal had become a comforting feeling, a feeling she associated with normalcy and home. If there were enough magic to poof them home, she would do it. The almost five hour drive ahead of them seemed like an eternity.

              The five hour drive ended up stretching to over six hours. At first Killian thought he was imagining it, but three hours into the car trip, he had to admit the truth – Emma was getting worse. He bought her crackers and ginger ale at a gas station, but Emma had barely touched them. When she wasn’t sick on the side of the road, she was fitfully sleeping. Then, as if things couldn’t get worse, it began to rain. Emma sat up moaning.

              “Pull over,” she mumbled, “quick.”

              “Wait,” Killian instructed as soon as the car came to a stop. He grabbed an umbrella from the floorboard of the back seat and came around to help Emma out of the car. He held the umbrella over her head, hating himself in this moment for being one handed. He couldn’t hold her hair back and hold the umbrella at the same time.

              “You’re getting wet,” Emma gasped out, running the back of her hand across her mouth and getting shakily to her feet.

              “Tis nothing, love,” Killian assured her, flashing her his most charming grin. He didn’t want her to know how worried he was. Although, with her super power, she had probably already guessed as much.

              The next time Emma had to stop, she didn’t wait for the umbrella. She merely stumbled out of the car and into the pouring rain, falling to her knees. Killian raced to her side, heedless of the rain, whispering to her that it would be okay. When Emma finished what was now just dry heaving, she attempted to stand, but her knees immediately buckled beneath her. She clutched Killian’s jacket and leaned into him as she stumbled to the car. Killian was practically frantic with worry now. Emma was soaked to the skin and shivering. He grabbed a blanket from one of the boxes in the back seat and tucked it around her.

              “Th-thank you,” Emma mumbled, teeth chattering.

              Killian thought he couldn’t be any more worried until he smoothed her wet hair back from her forehead. Emma was burning up! He raced around to the driver’s seat and started the car. He was torn between driving as fast as he could to get Emma home and driving safely in the rain. Finally, the Welcome to Storybrooke sign came into view. Killian had never been so happy to see that sign in all the time he had lived in this realm.

              Killian could never say why, exactly, he had headed straight to the loft. In retrospect, he should have taken Emma straight to the hospital. But, to be completely honest, he was scared to death. And in his fear, his first instinct was to find the Charmings. He took the stairs and fast as he could, carrying Emma in his arms. It frightened him even more how light she was. _She’s pregnant. She shouldn’t be this thin._ When he reached Snow and David’s door, he banged on it hard with his foot.

              Multiple emotions warred on David’s face when he opened the door. Happiness to see Killian, confusion, and most of all, concern at the state of his daughter. Snow rounded the corner, and an enthusiastic welcome home greeting for Killian died on her lips.

              “Help us,” Killian choked out, not caring that they were seeing him cry, “she’s sick.”

              Snow gestured him over to the bed, where Killian gently deposited Emma. “I kept having to pull over,” he explained. “She kept getting sick.”

              “Killian,” Snow spoke up, somewhat hesitantly, “she isn’t sick, she’s -“

              “Pregnant?” Killian looked up into Snow’s startled face. “I know that, but something’s not right. She’s burning up with fever, too.”

              “Something’s wrong with Mom?” Henry, who had been spending the day at the stables with David, walked worriedly towards the bed.

              David caught Killian’s eye. “Yes, Henry. So I need you to call Dr. Whale, ok?”

              Henry nodded and hurried off. Snow leaned over, putting a hand to Emma’s forehead. “You’re right, she’s burning up. We’ve got to get her out of these wet clothes.” Snow raced upstairs and came back with an old pair of Emma’s pajamas. Snow pulled the curtain closed and she and Killian got Emma changed while David paced. Henry got off the phone just as Snow pulled the curtain open. The boy’s face looked pale.

              “Whale says we need to get Mom to the emergency room. Now.”

              “I’ll go get the truck,” said David, turning towards the door.

              “No,” Killian scooped Emma up and turned to David, “I drove the bug here. You three follow me there.”

              Killian ignored their confused expressions as he headed for the stairs. Behind him, he heard Henry ask, “Since when does he know how to drive?” Killian sincerely hoped that, by tomorrow, it would be funny.    

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * I know this is sort of a weird place to end this chapter, but I don't have time to write any more today, and I wanted to update still. But, you may have noticed that the info on this fic now says it will have 14 chapters, so we only have two more to go!  
> * If you're wondering if Killian could really drive a stick shift one handed (the old bugs are sticks, right?), I don't blame you. I wondered the same thing myself. But then I remembered an uncle of mine who lost his arm from the elbow down in a freak accident before I was born. He never had a prosthetic, just a stump, and I don't remember anything he couldn't do. He had this red convertible sports car that was a stick shift, and he would take my sister and I out driving in it. While writing this fic, I suddenly remembered that. I asked my husband, "I remember him using his good hand to shift gears, but how did he steer?" My husband said, "His knee, probably." So there you go.  
> * I had to do a little research for this chapter. I had no idea how long it would take to drive from Boston to Storybook. Did you know there are people in this fandom that have put Storybrooke on the map, so to speak? I mean, unless there's an actual Storybrooke, Maine. So, it really would take approximately 5 hours.  
> * In the next chapter you will find out what is wrong with Emma. Is it magical, or is something really wrong? And is magic sometimes easier for our heroes to deal with?


	13. Chapter 13

              Arriving at the hospital, everything happened in a blur. Killian ran inside carrying Emma, who was quickly place on a gurney and wheeled immediately down the hall towards the examining rooms. Killian jogged beside them, answering what felt like a million questions as he went. Once they got her into a room, the nurses and Dr. Whale were a hive of activity around Emma, barking orders. Killian felt helpless standing in the corner of the room. He heard a nurse say that Emma’s blood pressure was dangerously low, but most of it was medical jargon he didn’t understand.

              Finally, they told him that though Emma was unconscious, she was stable. The baby was fine, too, as evidenced by the grainy black and white pictures he held in his hand. Though the majority of his knowledge about this realm was through a curse, Killian knew enough to know that a baby’s first ultrasound was supposed to be a joyous occasion. It wasn’t supposed to be in the midst of panic, with the mother unconscious. Now Emma lay in a hospital bed, far too pale, hooked up to IVs and monitors.

              Whale gestured for Killian to follow him out into the hallway. He hated to leave his wife’s side, and he dreaded to hear what Whale had to say. But what choice did he have? Snow, Charming, and Henry were waiting for him outside Emma’s door. Henry put his arm around Killian, and Snow looped her arm through his, squeezing a little and giving Killian a hopeful smile. Charming stood just behind him, Neal fast asleep on his shoulder. The tension was thick.

              “Did Lily do this?” Killian asked hoarsely.

              Whale shook his head. “This is a medical problem, Killian, not magic. So I’m afraid there’s no easy fix for this,” Whale raised both hands when he saw the family’s worried expressions, and hastened to add, “but it also isn’t anything serious.”

              “What is it?” Snow asked. “What’s wrong with Emma?”

“It’s called hyperemesis gravidarum,” Whale explained, “which is a great big word for extremely severe morning sickness.”

“That’s all it is?” asked Snow, clearly confused. “Just morning sickness?”

“Well,” Whale explained, “it’s the complications that landed Emma in the hospital. She’s severely dehydrated, has a low electrolyte count, and dangerously low blood pressure. But –“

“This is all my fault,” Killian spoke, voice cracking. He clenched his jaw. “All the stress I’ve put her through –“

Whale cut him off. “Killian, hyperemesis gravidarum is a mystery to the medical community. There is no clear cause. It is definitely NOT your fault.”

David put his hand on Killian’s shoulder. “And it was Lily who put Emma through all that stress, not you.”

“But what about her fever?” Snow asked. “I’ve never heard of morning sickness causing fever.”

Whale shrugged. “That is a complete mystery. Well, not a _complete_ mystery. She tested positive for a bacterial infection. How she picked it up is the mystery. My guess is she probably caught it during one of her bouts with vomiting. Killian said she had gotten sick in some unsanitary places. Hell, she could have picked it up in the ladies room at Granny’s or the sheriff’s station days ago. We’re giving her antibiotics intravenously.”

Snow looked concerned. “I thought antibiotics were dangerous for pregnant women.”

“The benefit in this case outweighs the risk. The infection could spread to the baby and cause complications. We’re also giving her fluids through an IV, which will make the biggest difference. I want to keep her here until all of her numbers look better. Preferably until she can keep real food down.”

“What about the baby?” Henry asked.

“Babies in the womb are surprisingly resilient,“ Whale said with a smile. “The baby’s heartbeat is strong, and every organ seems to be developing as it should. My only concern is the baby’s weight – and Emma’s – both of them should be weighing more at 18 weeks.”

“Wait!” Snow held up a hand. “18 weeks? Emma calculated 12 weeks. And if you say the baby’s weight is low, how can you . . .”

Whale smiled at Killian, “I think that’s up to the baby’s father to explain.”

Killian looked down at the grainy photo in his hand. On one of them, the technician had typed out three little words. Apparently, she shouldn’t have done that without asking the parents first. But it was too late. Killian had read them.

“They know she’s about 18 weeks,” Killian said slowly, with a raspy voice, “because they can tell quite clearly that the baby’s a girl.”

Everyone’s reactions were immediate. Snow gasped, then smiled. David’s eyes welled up with tears. And Henry breathed out, “I’m going to have a baby sister.” All Killian could do was regret that Emma didn’t even know yet.

              ************************************************

Emma awoke slowly in a cold, dim room. She heard an electronic beeping and the steady thump of a rapid heartbeat. She raised one arm and saw an IV had been inserted into her wrist. She sighed and eased back onto her pillow. _So I’m in the hospital_. The last thing she remembered clearly was throwing up on the side of the road in the pouring rain. She remembered other things only vaguely: Killian wrapping a blanket around her wet body, Killian carrying her up the stairs to the loft, her mother’s warm hands changing her out of her wet clothes.

Emma looked to her left. She saw Killian slouched in an uncomfortable plastic chair, head lolled to the side, asleep. He had put his hook back on, and on his lap lay Henry’s new book: _The Pirate and the Princess_.

              Emma reached over and ran her fingers gently through the hair that fell across his forehead. At her touch, he stirred. Seeing her awake, he smiled and pulled his chair closer.

              “How are you feeling, love?” He took her hand in his and kissed it gently.

              “Much better, actually,” Emma sighed. Then, suddenly, panic struck her. “The baby! Is the baby okay?”

              “Shhh, darling, she’s fine,” Killian assured Emma, cupping her cheek. “That’s the little lass’s strong heartbeat you hear on that monitor there.”

              Emma sagged in relief and closed her eyes, not catching Killian’s words at first. Then she opened her eyes suddenly. “Wait,” she said, searching his sparkling blue eyes, “did you just say ‘lass’?”

              A huge grin filled Killian’s face. “Aye, love, that I did.” He flipped through the book in his lap, then handed Emma the ultrasound. She looked at it in wonder, tears filling her eyes.

              “But I’m only 12 weeks.”

              “Well, actually, no,” Killian chuckled. “Make that 18 weeks.”

              “18 weeks! Then that means . . .”

              “Yep,” Killian answered, popping the p, and looking much too proud of himself. “That is what we call a honeymoon baby.”

              Emma rolled her eyes and gave Killian a light whack to the chest. He laughed lightly again, but his laughter faded as he watched Emma slowly lower the ultrasound photos. She bit her lip and began picking at a loose thread in the hospital blanket. “A honeymoon baby,” she whispered.

              Suddenly concerned, Killian set the storybook gently on the floor and scooted his chair closer. He leaned towards her and stroked her cheek, “Something is troubling you, my love. What is it?”

              Emma looked at him with that lost girl expression. He hadn’t seen her look like that in ages. “Are you happy, Killian?”

              He looked at her with utter confusion. “Of course I’m happy, Emma! Why wouldn’t I be? I mean, I’ve been worried sick about you, but Whale says you will be okay, and our child is healthy and strong. Nothing could make me happier than going home and preparing for our little one’s arrival.”

              He punctuated his little speech with a light kiss to her knuckles. Emma gave him a tremulous smile, and he could tell it did nothing to ease whatever was bothering her. But Killian knew his Swan. She would talk when she was ready, and not any sooner. So Killian pretended the conversation was over.

He told Emma that Regina and Zelena had figured out a spell for the town line. Everyone could come and go as they pleased – except for those with dark magic. Therefore, Emma didn’t have to worry about Lily anymore. Killian watched Emma carefully, but, no, that wasn’t the cause of her distress. He also informed her that her parents had given Maleficent a choice: she could stay in her dungeon under the library or she could cross the town line to be with her daughter. Maleficent had, not surprisingly, chosen Lily. That bit of news, finally, got something out of Emma.

“So are we kicking the crocodile over the town line?”

Killian chuckled. “I’m in agreement with you on that one, Swan. Considering the mischief he causes in _any realm,_ I recommended tossing him out on his arse. However, your mother has hopes that having a daughter may still change him.”

“A daughter?”

“Aye, Belle was in labor the same time we were bringing you in. Her wee lass is beautiful; looks just like her mother, thank goodness.”

“You’ve seen her?”

“Held her, actually. I went down to her room for just a bit while you were still sleeping. Belle named her Colette, after her mother.”

“And how does Belle feel about her ex possibly having a change of heart?”

Killian sighed. “She has been lied to one too many times, I’m afraid. Belle isn’t even sure she wants to let Rumple see the child.”

“Understandable,” Emma mumbled. Then went back to picking at her blanket. Killian was just about to ask Emma once again what was wrong, when she spoke again. “Are you sure this life is what you want?”

“Emma,” Killian said, shaking his head, “where is this doubt coming from? You _know_ this is what I want. This – you, Henry, this baby – is my happy ending.”

“It’s just,” Emma sighed, finally lifting her head to meet his gaze, “Lily said some things –“

Killian cut her off. “That woman’s words were poison, Emma. Cast them aside.”

“But she said something that – that you said once before.”

“What?” Killian shook his head. “What are you talking about?”

“She called you my puppy dog,” Emma explained. “You said that too, once. When you were a Dark One. You said you were just my love sick puppy.”

Killian groaned. He wished he could go back and erase all the horrible things he said and did when the darkness was in him. He hurt Emma terribly, something he had sworn he would never intentionally do. “Emma, please, I’ve told you before, I meant none of those things. If I could take them all back, I would.”

“But there must have been _some_ truth to them. I just don’t want you, five or ten years from now, to resent me. To feel trapped in this white-picket fence life. I mean, you were a pirate all those years. You were free with nothing tying you down. I don’t want to be – an anchor, dragging you down.”

Once again, Killian inwardly cursed himself for those words. “Emma – “ but before he could speak, Emma continued.

“I mean, Milah, you loved her all those years. She didn’t tie you down. She went to sea with you, became a pirate. The two of you shared one swashbuckling adventure after another. Am I – boring?”

Killian laughed. “I’d hardly call life with you boring, Emma.”

It wasn’t enough to quell her fears. “But now every villain is defeated. The town line is protected.”

“Until the crocodile finds a way out of that cell,” Killian quipped.

Emma barely cracked a smile. “What if there are no more adventures? And it’s just you coming home to your family every day after an ordinary day’s work. Will you still be happy?”               Killian sighed and ran his hand through his hair. “I’m going to tell you something, Emma, that I’ve never confessed to anyone else. Hell, I was hardly able to admit it to myself.” He ran his hand wearily over his face, took a deep breath, and told his tale.

“When Milah first ran off with me, I promised her, when Baelfire was old enough, we would go back for him. Every year, around his birthday, I would ask Milah if we were to go for Bae. Every year, she said the same thing – he was too young. At first, I accepted this without question. After all, he was barely six when Milah left. When his 8th birthday came and went, I felt uneasy. I was a cabin boy myself at 8. Granted, I was a slave, and it was a hard life, but Bae would have his mother. Still, I didn’t argue with Milah.

Until she said the same thing on his 9th birthday. I told her I thought he was plenty old enough for life on board a ship. Milah agreed but said it was the piracy that concerned her. Every time we attacked a ship, we were risking our lives. That was quite true, so during the next year, I made preparations. I didn’t tell Milah. I told myself I wanted to surprise her, but now, I’m not so sure. Anyway, I found a cottage by the sea and looked into turning the Jolly Roger into a respectable merchant ship. My crew at that time was still the same one that sailed under Liam, so there were several men I felt I could trust as captain. I would have to sail on some voyages, but for the most part, I could run the business from land.

A week before Bae’s birthday, I told Milah my plan. I thought she would be thrilled, but she wasn’t. She was adamantly against it. She said I would miss the sea too much, the adventure.” Killian paused here and looked deeply into Emma’s eyes. “It was the only time I thought that she really didn’t know me at all.”

“You wanted a family,” Emma said simply. “You were a lost boy who, deep down, wanted a home.”

Killian smiled at Emma. She knew him so well. “Aye. After that, I never asked Milah about Bae again, and she never brought it up. Three years later, we learned that he had disappeared. Some whispered that his father had killed him, but Milah never believed it. As much as she hated Rumple, she knew he would never harm their son.”

Killian sighed and leaned back in his chair, holding his hand to his face for a moment. When he looked up at Emma, tears glistened in his eyes. “You have to understand, Emma, that all of Milah’s life, she felt trapped. Her mother died when she was young, and her father was a brute; the worst kind of bully. He arranged her marriage with Rumple, whom Milah had never even met. To Milah, motherhood was just another cage she wanted to be free of.”

Killian leaned forward, taking Emma’s hand in his. “But you, darling, from the moment I met you, you have put Henry first. When we went to Neverland, you wore your title of ‘mother’ like a badge of honor. And when I found you in New York, you were such a natural at motherhood. That’s where you are so completely different from Milah. And that is why you are my true love, the one I want to spend the rest of my life with, grow old with. _I_ chose our house, remember Emma? So never doubt for one second that this is right where I want to be.”

The tears were flowing freely down Emma’s face. She rubbed at her wet cheeks with the back of her hand and sniffled. Killian kissed her gently. “You’re so beautiful, Emma. Have I told you that today?”

Emma rolled her eyes. “You are such a liar. I haven’t bathed in two days, I’m wearing a hospital gown, and now my eyes are puffy and I’m snotting all over myself.”

Killian grinned. “Use your super power love, am I lying to you?”

Emma was speechless. Killian said nothing more. He simply removed his shoes and his brace, and eased himself gently onto the narrow hospital bed. Careful of all the IVs and cords, he wrapped his arms around her.

“You’re my happy ending, Emma. Don’t ever doubt that.”

And Emma never doubted it again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * The medical condition I gave Emma is real. I first heard about it when Princess Kate was hospitalized during her pregnancy. I did a little research (well, just Web MD, haha), and it does cause all the symptoms Emma has in the story.  
> * I actually wasn't planning on Emma being that far along in her pregnancy, but I wanted the baby to be a girl. Unfortunately, while an ultrasound can accurately identify a boy at 12 weeks, it can' t identify a girl until 18 weeks. However, with Emma's condition, she still wouldn't be showing, since it causes the mother to loose 5% of her original body weight.   
> * Killian's conversation with Emma at the end is my head canon for something that has always bothered me. As a mother, I dislike Milah for abandoning her son. However, neither do I like fan fiction that paints Milah as a villain or implies that Killian didn't really love her. Obviously, he love her, or he wouldn't have sought revenge for hundreds of years. Plus, he came right out and said he didn't think he would ever love again after Milah. But what bothers me is that the show has been pretty clear that Killian has always wanted a family. He told Baelfire that he did, and we've seen how being abandoned by his father affected him. He's always admired Emma's devotion to Henry and, as Emma said herself, has always been good with Henry. So I have a hard time making sense of the fact that this same man would also take a mother away from her child. He told Baelfire they were planning on going back for him, but when we first met Baelfire he was old enough to be drafted in the ogre wars. The only way I can wrap my mind around it is that Milah kept stalling. I tried really hard not to be paint her in a horrible light for this. On the show, the flashbacks of Milah helped me understand better how trapped she felt. I still don't agree with it, but I can at least understand it. I also have this head canon that while Killian was 100% in love, Milah was more in love with the idea of pirate Captain Killian Jones more so than the man Killian Jones. I personally think if Killian for some reason had to trade his ship for Milah, she would have been ticked about it. Still, I tried to write the scene without belittling Killian's love for Milah or being too harsh concerning her actions. I hope I've achieved that.  
> * The last chapter is actually more of an epilogue. I may not be able to post it for a few days. We'll see!


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * Surprise! I was able to update today after all. 
> 
> * So here it is, the end of this fic! Remember, I told you this chapter was an epilogue, so it is very short.
> 
> * Thank you to everyone for following this fic and leaving your comments and kudos! Some of you may know that I am knew to writing fan fiction. Besides this fic, all I've written are 2 one shots. I actually haven't done any writing in years, so this was a way to get back into something that I love that I had sort of given up on. This community has been so supportive and encouraging, it has actually given me the confidence to start on a novel I have been thinking about for years (but don't worry, I'll still write fan fiction! I can't leave these two characters alone; I just love them too much!). I don't know if it is this particular fandom or AO3 in general, but everyone here is just so great. Thanks so much for following this fic and my others!

Epilogue

Twenty-two weeks later, Emma once again woke up in a hospital bed. But this time, there was no confusion or fear – just joy. Exhaustion, yes, but mostly joy.

She turned her head to the left and saw Killian walking back and forth, bouncing their baby girl in his arms. He was singing a lullaby softly, in a language Emma didn’t recognize. Their little one slept soundly, swaddled tightly and wearing a little pink cap on her head, yet Killian kept singing to her. She had Killian’s dark hair – a full, thick headful of it. Emma had heard an old wives’ tale that pregnant women who had lots of indigestion would give birth to a baby with lots of hair. It was definitely true in this case. Emma’s morning sickness slowly faded shortly after her stay in the hospital, but she continued to pop Tums like candy.

              Their little girl also had Killian’s exact shade of blue eyes. It was just like she had imagined. Snow warned her that sometimes babies’ lost their hair and it grew back a different color. And all the baby books said that _all_ Caucasian babies are born with blue eyes, and you wouldn’t know their actual eye color until two years of age. But Emma didn’t care what anyone or any book said. Her little girl looked just like Killian, and no one could convince her otherwise.

              “I didn’t know you could sing so well,” Emma spoke up softly, lest she wake the baby.

              “Well, a good singing voice doesn’t exactly strike fear into one’s enemies at sea, Swan,” Killian replied, never taking his eyes off his daughter. “Isn’t that right, little lass?” he cooed to the baby.

              Emma chuckled. “Neither does talking baby talk.”

              Killian just smiled at her, coming over to sit down on the edge of her bed. The two of them sat there for a while, just gazing in wonder at the little miracle their love had created.

              “Killian?”

              “Mmhmm . . .”

              “This is our happy ending, isn’t it?”

              Killian tore his eyes away from the baby and nodded. “Aye, love.”

              “And no one can take it away from us?”               Killian smiled gently. “They may try, my love, but none will ever succeed.”

              Emma snuggled down against her pillow and fell asleep to the soothing sound of her husband’s lullaby.


End file.
